Adaptable retail pricing environment and electronic exchange, delivering customized shopper rewards

ABSTRACT

An individualized discount and reward server includes one or more linked databases to store customer data, where the customer data includes at least one retailer account and purchase history associated with the customer. The server includes a processor to allocate at least one customized offer to the retailer account using at least the purchase history associated with the customer, where the at least one customized offer includes a loyalty adjustment changing a general market price point of a product in accordance with the customized offer. The processor redeems the customized offer upon receiving a purchase notification. The customized offer is redeemed by associating the product with the loyalty adjustment independent of the general market price point associated with the product at a time of reception of the purchase notification.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of theearlier filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/282,742entitled “A Personalized Pricing System & Associated Methodology ofDelivering Customized Shopper Rewards and Discounts” filed Mar. 25,2010, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present advancements relate to a system, apparatus, and associatedmethodologies for providing individualized discounted customer pricing.

Loyalty programs are known to provide participating customers of a givenretailer, such as a department or grocery store, with discounts onretail goods and/or services. Retailers may use these loyalty programsto monitor items that the retailer's customer base is purchasing or notpurchasing, and provide an incentive and/or discount for a particularitem. As an example, a retailer may determine that a particular snackitem is not selling very well. Accordingly, the retailer may offerloyalty program customers an additional 30 cents off the snack item.Such an offer would be provided to all participating customers. Yet,different customers may have different purchasing interests and needs,and therefore, different purchasing habits. Known loyalty programs arenot tailored to individual customer needs, interests, and habits.

SUMMARY

In view of the foregoing, the present advancements provide a system thatgenerates and notifies participating customers of offers and/or rewardstailored to a given customer profile.

In exemplary embodiments, an individualized discount and reward serverincludes one or more linked databases to store customer data associatedwith a loyalty program of a retailer, where the customer data includesat least one retailer account and purchase history associated with thecustomer. The server includes an interface to receive customer input.The server further includes a processor to allocate at least onecustomized offer to the retailer account using at least the purchasehistory associated with the customer, where the at least one customizedoffer includes a loyalty adjustment changing a general market pricepoint of a product in accordance with the customized offer. Theprocessor displays to the customer, via the interface, a display pageincluding the at least one customized offer and an option for selectionof the at least one customized offer. The processor updates, uponreception of the customer input indicating selection of the at least onecustomized offer, the retailer account associated with the customer toindicate selection of the at least one customized offer. The processoralso redeems the customized offer upon receiving a purchase notificationspecifying the retailer account associated with the customer and theproduct. The customized offer is redeemed by associating the productwith the loyalty adjustment independent of the general market pricepoint associated with the product at a time of reception of the purchasenotification.

In exemplary embodiments, an individualized discount and reward systemincludes a server having one or more linked databases to store customerdata associated with a loyalty program of a retailer, where the customerdata includes at least one retailer account and purchase historyassociated with the customer. The server includes an interface toreceive customer input. The server further includes a processor toallocate at least one customized offer to the retailer account using atleast the purchase history associated with the customer, where the atleast one customized offer includes a loyalty adjustment changing ageneral market price point of a product in accordance with thecustomized offer. The processor displays to the customer, via theinterface, a display page including the at least one customized offerand an option for selection of the at least one customized offer. Theprocessor further updates, upon reception of the customer inputindicating selection of the at least one customized offer, the retaileraccount associated with the customer to indicate selection of the atleast one customized offer. The system further includes a point of saledevice to transmit a purchase notification to the server, the purchasenotification specifying the retailer account associated with thecustomer and the product. The customized offer is redeemed byassociating the product with the loyalty adjustment independent of thegeneral market price point associated with the product at a time ofreception of the purchase notification.

In exemplary embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon computer executable instructions that whenexecuted by a processor in an individualized discount and reward servercauses the server to store, in one or more linked databases, customerdata associated with a loyalty program of a retailer. The customer dataincludes at least one retailer account and purchase history associatedwith the customer. The computer executable instructions further causethe server to receive customer input via an interface and allocate atleast one customized offer to the retailer account using at least thepurchase history associated with the customer. The at least onecustomized offer includes a loyalty adjustment changing a general marketprice point of a product in accordance with the customized offer. Thecomputer executable instructions further cause the server to display tothe customer, via the interface, a display page including the at leastone customized offer and an option for selection of the at least onecustomized offer. The computer executable instructions further cause theserver to update, upon reception of the customer input indicatingselection of the at least one customized offer, the retailer accountassociated with the customer to indicate selection of the at least onecustomized offer. Additionally, the computer executable instructionsfurther cause the server to redeem the customized offer upon receiving apurchase notification specifying the retailer account associated withthe customer and the product. The customized offer is redeemed byassociating the product with the loyalty adjustment independent of thegeneral market price point associated with the product at a time ofreception of the purchase notification.

In exemplary embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon computer executable instructions that whenexecuted by a processor in a mobile device causes the mobile device tostore, in one or more linked memories, a mobile application and customerdata, the mobile application downloaded from a rewards server associatedwith a retailer. The customer data associated with a loyalty program ofthe retailer, the customer data including at least one retailer accountand purchase history associated with a customer. The computer executableinstructions cause the mobile device to receive customer input via auser interface. The computer executable instructions cause the mobiledevices to display the mobile application via the user interface. Thecomputer executable instructions cause the mobile device to display alog-in page permitting a customer to access the at least one retaileraccount associated with the customer and display a purchase price, viathe mobile application, for at least one product associated with theretailer. The computer executable instructions further cause the mobiledevice to display an option for payment, via the mobile application, ofthe at least one product using at least one payment account associatedwith the at least one retailer account. Additionally, the computerexecutable instructions cause the mobile device to update, uponreception of the customer input indicating selection of the paymentoption, the at least one retailer account to indicate a deduction of thedisplayed purchase price from the at least one payment account.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure willbe fully understood from the following detailed description of exampleembodiments of the present advancements when in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the present advancements and many of theattendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the samebecomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. However, the accompanying drawings and their exampledepictions do not in any way limit the scope of the present advancementsembraced by the specification. The scope of the present advancementsembraced by the specification and drawings are defined by words of theaccompanying claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary network topology using a network;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary server that may be utilized toimplement an enterprise system;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary mobile device;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary system including one or more modules;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary database library system;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary overview of the enterprise system;

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary configuration between the enterprisesystem and a coupon aggregator server;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary configuration for operating manufacturercoupons using a coupon application;

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary configuration for accessing a customerportal to view offers;

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate an exemplary architecture for implementinga customized offers savings program;

FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate an exemplary network architecture forimplementing the customized offers savings program;

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary customer profile;

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary product profile;

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary customer purchase history profile;

FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary offer definition file;

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary household allocation file;

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary redemption file;

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary reporting file;

FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary competitor price file;

FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary price zone association file;

FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplary transfer image file;

FIG. 22 illustrates an exemplary data elements file;

FIG. 23 illustrates an exemplary customer portal interface;

FIGS. 24A and 24B illustrate exemplary sign-in/registration interfaces;

FIG. 24C illustrates an exemplary login interface;

FIG. 25 illustrates an exemplary registration user interface;

FIGS. 26A and 26B illustrate exemplary contact information userinterfaces;

FIG. 27 illustrates an exemplary registration user interface;

FIG. 28 illustrates an exemplary survey user interface;

FIG. 29 illustrates an exemplary notification user interface;

FIGS. 30A-30C illustrate exemplary introduction user interfaces;

FIG. 31 illustrates an exemplary offer selection user interface;

FIGS. 32A and 32B illustrate another exemplary offer selection userinterface;

FIGS. 33A and 33B illustrate an exemplary club specials selection userinterface;

FIGS. 34A and 34B illustrate an exemplary coupon user interface fordisplaying coupon offers;

FIGS. 35A and 35B illustrate another exemplary coupon user interface;

FIG. 36 illustrates an exemplary savings list user interface;

FIGS. 37A and 37B illustrate exemplary additional savings list userinterfaces;

FIG. 38 illustrates an exemplary print savings list user interface;

FIG. 39A illustrates an exemplary rewards user interface;

FIG. 39B illustrates an exemplary savings user interface;

FIG. 40 illustrates an exemplary savings reports user interface;

FIG. 41A illustrates an exemplary email notifying a customer of newoffers;

FIG. 41B illustrates an exemplary register receipt;

FIG. 42 illustrates an exemplary loyalty rewards interface;

FIG. 43A illustrates an exemplary offer game interface; and

FIG. 43B illustrates another exemplary offer game interface.

FIGS. 44A and 44B illustrate an exemplary administrator interfaces;

FIGS. 45A-45C illustrate exemplary shopping lists;

FIG. 46 illustrates an exemplary process for registering a user with theenterprise system and the customized offers savings program;

FIG. 47 illustrates an exemplary process for displaying an offerselection user page to a user;

FIG. 48 illustrates an exemplary customer purchase flow chart;

FIG. 49 illustrates an exemplary chart showing the top selling rapidconsumable categories;

FIG. 50 illustrates an exemplary chart showing the top categories havingthe highest share of wallet;

FIG. 51 illustrates an exemplary chart for identifying potential brandswitchers for each brand in each category;

FIGS. 52A and 52B illustrate an exemplary process for allocating offersto one or more households;

FIG. 53 illustrates an exemplary brand switching offer allocationprocess;

FIG. 54 illustrates an exemplary flow category buyer offer allocationprocess;

FIG. 55 illustrates an exemplary medium/high buyer category allocationoffer process;

FIG. 56 illustrates an exemplary declining category offer allocationprocess;

FIG. 57 illustrates an exemplary buyer promo offer allocation process;

FIG. 58 illustrates an exemplary opportunity gap peer group offerallocation process;

FIG. 59 illustrates an exemplary high penetration and affinity offerallocation process;

FIG. 60 illustrates an exemplary interface displayed as a web page on acustomer's computer or on a screen of a POS device;

FIG. 61 illustrates an exemplary interface displaying an offeracceptance for a competitor price;

FIG. 62 illustrates an exemplary interface including the updatedpersonalized offer for the competitor's price;

FIG. 63 illustrates and exemplary interface displayed on a POS devicewhile a customer is making a purchase;

FIG. 64 illustrates an exemplary interface displayed on a POS devicewhile a customer is making a purchase;

FIG. 65 illustrates an exemplary interface displayed on a POS devicewhile a customer is making a purchase;

FIG. 66 illustrates an exemplary interface where a customer specifies aproduct for which the customer desires to receive a personalized offer;

FIG. 67 illustrates an exemplary competitor price matching interface;

FIG. 68 illustrates another exemplary competitor price matchinginterface;

FIG. 69 illustrates an exemplary user dashboard interface;

FIG. 70 illustrates an exemplary shopping list;

FIG. 71 illustrates another exemplary shopping list;

FIG. 72 illustrates an exemplary flow chart for providing customizedoffers at competitor prices.

FIG. 73 illustrates an exemplary mobile user interface;

FIG. 74 illustrates an exemplary mobile purchase interface;

FIG. 75 illustrates another exemplary mobile purchase interface;

FIG. 76 illustrates an exemplary mobile check-in interface;

FIG. 77 illustrates an exemplary mobile shopping list interface;

FIG. 78 illustrates another exemplary mobile shopping list interface;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The terminology “retailer” as used herein refers to a business involvedin the sale of consumer items, industrial goods, or services to thepublic. A “consumer packaged good” (hereinafter “CPG”) as used hereinincludes any consumer item prepared and packaged by a manufacturer andmade available for purchase by the retailer. A “CPG manufacturer” asused herein includes any manufacturer of a consumer packaged good. A“CPG partner” as used herein includes any CPG manufacturer having abusiness and/or contractual relationship with the retailer.

In exemplary embodiments, a customized offer includes one or morediscounts and/or one or more rewards. A “discount” as used hereinspecifies a reduction in a general market price point of an item, or aset of items. A “reward” as used herein indicates providing value to acustomer such as a free item(s), discounted price, coupon(s), targetedservice(s) and targeted information. Additionally, a “coupon” as usedherein specifies a reduction in a sale price of an item for a limitedduration of time or number of transactions.

In exemplary embodiments, the terminology a “customer” includesindividuals and households.

In exemplary embodiments, a loyalty medium is associated with acustomer's loyalty account. Examples of a loyalty medium include, butare not limited to a loyalty card, fob, credit card, biometric data,PIN, and cell phones having near field communication capability (e.g.,infrared, WiFi, bluetooth etc.). For example, when a customer's loyaltymedium is a loyalty card, the loyalty card may be used to redeem offerswhen making a purchase by swiping the card or entering a unique codeassociated with the card at a retail store. In another example, when acustomer's loyalty medium is a cell phone having near fieldcommunication capability, the cell phone may be used to redeem offers bytransmitting a unique ID associated with the customer's loyalty accountto a receiver located on a POS device associated with the retailer.

According to some embodiments, a customer can have any desired number ofloyalty mediums. For example, the customer can have both a loyalty cardand cell phone with near field communication capability as loyaltymediums. According to some embodiments, scanning a loyalty mediumincludes, but not limited to, scanning a barcode located on a loyaltycard, swiping a magnetic strip located on the loyalty card through acard reader, using a near field communication capability of a cell phoneor a fob to transmit a unique ID associated with a customer's loyaltyaccount, or using any other desired communication device to transmit theunique ID associated with the customer's loyalty account.

The embodiments of the present advancements are related to systems andmethods for generating customized offers for selected households. Inembodiments, a retailer of consumer goods may utilize the exemplarycustomer loyalty system to deliver customized offers. Each customizedoffer may be based on a household's purchase history or the purchasehistory of a number of households in a particular geographical area.Customized offers for an item may be unique to a particular householdwhere that household receives an offer for an item that other householdsdo not receive.

As an example, a retailer price for a particular brand of yogurt maysell for $2.00. However, a particular household may receive an offer tobuy that yogurt for $1.50. If a household chooses to accept that offer,that offer may be loaded onto any desired loyalty medium such as aloyalty card, fob, NFC cell phone, credit card, biometric, PINassociated with the household. Accordingly, when the household purchasesthat particular brand of yogurt and uses the loyalty medium whenpurchasing that brand of yogurt, the yogurt may be sold for the offerprice of $1.50 even if the price of that brand of yogurt went up to$2.20 at the retailer.

According to embodiments, the price point may be determined byevaluating the following inputs by price area for customers within thatprice area: retailer cost, retailer regular retail price, retaileraverage retail price, retailer promoted price, and shelf price of keycompetitors. In further embodiments, any additional funding availablefrom CPG partners that will be provided in return for incremental unitvolume may also be included when determining a price point. Additionalembodiments take into account the price elasticity of the item forretailer customers (i.e., how many incremental units the retailerexpects customers to purchase for a given reduction in price). Also,embodiments may take into account any information indicating howimportant each particular item is in terms of trip driving behavior(i.e., how important the item is to customers in deciding where toshop—where the retailer would be more likely to provide a lower pricepoint than might otherwise be warranted for an item that is a criticaldriver of trip behavior). The above non-exclusive list of inputs may beused to determine the price point that will be most optimal forcustomers, CPG partners and the retailer.

Topology/Architecture

In embodiments, any desired network configuration, hardware, programmingarchitecture, or a combination of both may be used to implement a systemto perform a retailer's customized offers savings program. FIG. 1illustrates an example network topology using a network 100. Inembodiments, the network 100 may be any desired network such as theinternet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), etc.

In embodiments, one or more servers 102 may be connected to one or moredatabases 104, and interfaced with the network 100. The one or moreservers 102 may be utilized as a central hosting site for a retailer tomanage the retailer's customized offers savings program. According tosome embodiments, an enterprise system run by the retailer may beimplemented on the one or more servers 102. The enterprise system may beused to implement the customized offers savings program.

In embodiments, the network configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 mayfurther include personal computers (PC) 106 and 108 and mobile devices110 and 112. As illustrated in FIG. 1, any desired number of PCs andmobile devices may be connected to the network 100. Users of the PCs 106and 108 and mobile devices 110 and 112 may access the customized offerssavings program on the one or more servers 102 via network 100.Accordingly, the servers 102 may notify households of the customizedoffers savings program through the network 100 to the households' PCs ormobile devices. Additionally, one or more store retailers 114 may accessthe server 102 via network 100. As an example, a retailer may be aregional or national chain having a plurality of retailers associatedwith that retailer. Accordingly, each store retailer 114 associated withthe retailer may access the customized offers savings program using a PCor point of sale device (POS). Additionally, one or more CPG partners116 may access the customized offers savings program on the server 102via the network 100. As an example, one or more CPG partners 116 mayreceive reports from the server 102 via the network 100 to help the CPGpartners 116 to receive reports to help the CPG partners 116 developoffers.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a server 200 that may be utilized toimplement the enterprise system. According to some embodiments, one ormore servers 200 operating in parallel with each other may be utilizedto implement the enterprise system.

In embodiments, the server 200 includes a CPU 280 which processes dataand instructions stored in main memory 240 and/or ROM 250. The CPU 280may also process information stored on the disk 210 or CD-ROM 220. As anexample, the CPU 280 may be an IBM System 4690 from IBM of Americaemploying at least one Xenon processor from Intel of America or anOpteron processor from AMD of America. Thus, instructions correspondingto a process in a mobile device may be stored on any one of the disk210, CD-ROM 220, main memory 240 or ROM 250.

In embodiments, the server 200 also includes a network interface 275,such as an Intel Ethernet PRO network interface card from IntelCorporation of America, for interfacing with the network 100 (FIG. 1); adisplay controller 230, such as a NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX graphics adaptorfrom NVIDIA Corporation of America for interfacing with a display 202,such as a Hewlett Packard HP L2445w LCD monitor. The server 200 may alsoinclude an I/O interface 290 for interfacing with a keyboard 295 andpointing device 285, such as a roller ball or mouse. According to someembodiments, the disk controller 260 interconnects disk 210, such as ahard disk drive or FLASH memory drive, and CD-ROM 220 or DVD drive withbus 270, which may be an ISA, EISA, VESA, PCI, or similar forinterconnecting all of the components of the server 200. A descriptionof the general features and functionality of the display 202, keyboard295 and pointing device 285, as well as the display controller 230, diskcontroller 260, network interface 275 and I/O interface 290 is alsoomitted for brevity as these features are well known. Of course, otherprocessor and hardware vendors and types are known in the art such asFreescale, ColdFire®, i.MX and ARM processors from Freescale Corporationof America.

The example server 200 of FIG. 2 may therefore be a hardware platform ofa computing device, such as a PC, and CPU 280 may for example be anIntel Pentium Processor, or any other desired processor known in theart. The computer-readable instructions stored on any one of the mainmemory 240, ROM 250, disk 210 or CD-ROM 220 may be provided as a utilityapplication, background daemon, or component of an operating system, orcombination thereof, executing in conjunction with CPU 280 and anoperating system such as Microsoft Windows® VISTA, UNIX®, Solaris®,LINUX®, Apple® MAC OS® and other systems known to those skilled in theart.

Main memory 240 and/or ROM 250 support registries and the like featuresof the server 102. As such, main memory 240 may be a random accessmemory (RAM), FLASH memory, EEPROM memory, or the like, while ROM 250 isRead Only Memory, such as PROMs. Further descriptions of the main memory240 and the ROM 250 are omitted for brevity as such memory is wellknown.

Savings Program

Offers may be generated to maximize profits and savings where a pricefor an item is chosen that would increase profit for the retailer andalso increase a household's savings on that item. The retailer maypartner with a CPG manufacturer for the purpose of building market sharefor both the CPG manufacturer and the retailer. In embodiments, theretailer may utilize the exemplary customer loyalty system disclosedherein in a direct marketing effort to provide everyday prices that arebest in the market loaded onto a loyalty medium. The retailer mayutilize the exemplary customer loyalty system to target households anddeliver the most relevant offers to each customer.

Additionally, the retailer may utilize the exemplary customer loyaltysystem to monitor a customer's purchase history, where the retailer andCPG partners can utilize an aggregated view of collected information todevelop prices for customized offers. Particularly, upon receivinginformation from the retailer indicating that certain customers are onlywilling to buy the CPG partner's product at a reduced price, the CPGpartner may agree to provide funding to the retailer that will allow theretailer to fully or partially offset the cost of the incremental pricereduction to the consumer.

Particularly, the retailer may build profitable market share despite loweveryday prices because the CPG partner may fund a portion or all of theincremental markdowns to support incremental business. The CPG partnermay have the incentive to fund the markdowns because the CPG partner maycontinue to make a strong margin against its own marginal cost.Additionally, the CPG partner may have the incentive to provide freegoods to encourage trials with target consumers and build incrementaldemand.

Embodiments are related to identifying brand switchers and providing CPGpartners exclusive access to brand switchers. A brand switcher may beany consumer that may switch brands if offered a particular price. Uponidentifying a potential brand switcher, a CPG partner may have theopportunity to provide an offer to the potential brand switcher.Additionally, CPG partners may have the opportunity to offer free anddeeply discounted new items that fit the target consumer profile of theCPG partner.

According to some embodiments, a customized offers savings program maybe supported by any desired marketing and advertising methodology. As anexample, customers of the retailer may learn of the customized offerssavings program through print advertising, in-store signage, radio/TV,online advertising, social media, customer specific messaging, customerspecific checker and management interaction, and targeted emails,SMS/text messages, or any other targeted form of communication.

According to some embodiments, based on a customer's demonstratedpropensity to purchase an item, the customer is allocated a high-buyerreward offer. The purchase of the offer is not based on the quantity ofan item the customer purchases since the customer already buys this itemoften. Therefore, the high-buyer offer is allocated as a reward to thecustomer and builds loyalty by giving a highly relevant offer to thecustomer. Additional embodiments include affinity offers where an offeris allocated upon purchase of an affinity item (e.g., an item that isfrequently bought with another item). Affinity offers may be provided inthe form of “you bought X, so we suggest you try Y.”

Some embodiments are related to personalized information related todeals available at the retailer, which may include a personalized listof the items on sale at the retailer (whether included in the ad or not)that the customer will be interested in. According to embodiments, thepersonalized list includes a list of the items in a retailer ad eachweek that each customer buys from the retailer with the items sorted byrelevance (e.g., item quantity, amount spent, etc.) as well as itemsthat are on deal each week (loyalty medium specials) that are notincluded in the retailer ad. The benefit to the customer is a savings intime from having to create their own personalized list of the items theytypically buy from the retailer that is on deal for the current week.Further embodiments extend the personalized list to include recommendeditems (e.g., items that the customer doesn't currently purchase, butthat customers like the customer typically purchase and they may want toconsider).

Further embodiments are directed to manufacturer digital coupons. Themanufacturer digital coupons may be sorted according tocustomer/household relevance. Embodiments are related to a site thataggregates all of the digital coupons available on the web, wherecoupons are sorted by relevance to each shopper, which helps save thecustomer time. Embodiments are related to sorting coupons based onrelevance (e.g., item quantity, amount spent, discount value, customerpurchase history, etc.). Further embodiments include print coupons thatcan be assorted by relevance as discussed above for digital coupons.

Selection of Households

Embodiments are related to the ability to pinpoint households that havethe highest probability of engaging in a customized offers savingsprogram. Household selection may be based on a geographical locationsuch as an entire retailer division, a retailer district, a city, etc.Household selection may also be based on households who are loyalretailer shoppers, households who are not loyal retailer shoppers,households who are declining in spending, households who are new to theretailer, or any other group or segment of households that the retailerwould be interested in engaging in a customized offers savings program.Additional embodiments include allocation of offers based on customersegment data, which specifies customer preferences. Customer segmentdata can be derived by the system of the present invention fromobservational, behavioral, demographic and other segmentationmethodologies. Examples of customer segments include family lifestylessuch as baby and/or toddler. Additional customer segments can specifypreferences such as pets, household goods, electronics, office supplies,etc. Therefore, offers can be tailored to these segments.

Offer Creation

Embodiments are related to creating an offer bank that identifies themost relevant offers to retailer shoppers. In embodiments, offers cantake any desired form. As an example, an offer may be a price point thatis a $X.XX price for an item that may be for unlimited use over a briefor extended period of time. As another example, an offer may be incoupon form that is a $X.XX off an item that may be a one time use overa brief or extended period of time. The offer may be in a continuationform where a consumer may spend $X.XX or purchase a specific quantityover a period of time and save $Z.ZZ. The offer may also take a totalbasket form that may be discount (% or $) off of an entire basket of aconsumer. Offers may further be in the form of if “you buy X, you willreceive Y.” Offers may also specify a % off a purchase price. Offers mayalso specify that a customer needs to change purchasing behavior toreceive an offer (e.g., if the customer purchases an item at least oncea week for one month, the customer receives a customized offer for theitem.)

Offers in the offer bank may include offers for any desired item in anydesired category. As an example, offers may be directed to highpenetration items, which may be items that are most popular in themarketplace, and therefore items that households are most likely tocompare across retailers. High penetration items may be highly relevantto customers for targeted offers. Offers may be directed towards itemswith high relevance to particular household segments. Offers in theoffer bank may be directed towards items in categories with a high restof market gap (e.g., categories that may align a retailer's actualperformance with the retailer's potential performance). Offers may bedirected towards items in categories with a unique or special relevanceto the retailer. Offers may also be directed towards items fromparticipating CPG partners.

Offers may further be revised based on input from retailer internalstakeholders, CPG stakeholders, or from conditions from the competitivelandscape. As an example, the retailer may have the ability to make atargeted offer on any item within the store. Unique items may be itemsthat only the retailer carries such as retailer signature soup, whichmay be only available at the retailer. Accordingly, offers can be on anyitem that the retailer carries and would be relevant to a customer inthe form of a targeted offer.

According to some embodiments, an offer may include any desired offerverbiage such as the wording of an offer or the form of the offer.Offers may include any desired price point, which may be based oncompetitive price checks and/or an internal cost structure of theretailer. An internal cost structure may include predetermined pricepoints specified by the retailer. Offers may further be embodied inoffer files defining the specifics of an offer. Additionally, offers maybe associated with any desired branding and/or templates based on acommunication channel used to notify a consumer of the offer.

Embodiments are related towards allocating offers that are most relevantto a household while also representing incremental sales to theretailer. In embodiments, offer allocation may be based on an allocationstrategy that balances relevance to a household and incremental salespotential to the retailer and CPG partners. The allocation strategy mayutilize any desired methodology for determining which households shouldreceive an offer. Further, the allocation strategy may use point of sale(POS) data upon creation of an offer.

Offer Communication Channels

Embodiments are related towards delivering offers using any desiredcommunication channels. Embodiments may use any desired data miningmethodology to enable the retailer to determine the manner ofcommunication that a customer is most likely to receive an offer. Inembodiments, the retailer can identify a communication channel by askingthe customers how they would like to receive offers. Duringregistration, the customer may select from a picture drop down list anydesired method of communication: direct mail, printed receipt coupons,online, e-mail, mobile phone, in store, etc. In other embodiments, thedata provided by customers and how the customers have responded in thepast may be evaluated. For example, if the customer provided theretailer with their e-mail and has responded to e-mails in the past,future communications will use e-mail because this form of communicationis relevant, low cost, and has a short lead time.

An example communication channel may be a customized web page. Thecustomized web page may be tailored to give a customer easy access tothe information that is most relevant to that customer. On thecustomized web page, customized content and customized offers may bepresorted by relevance. Particularly, the customized web page maydeliver a unique display presentation of content on that web page basedon the customer viewing the web page. The customized web page mayfurther allow a customer to choose additional sorting and to statepreferences unique to that customer. Further, the customized web pagemay be connected to a retailer loyalty medium allowing a household toopt in to an offer and download offers to the household's retailerloyalty medium.

A desired offer communication channel may be email. Email may be used toannounce a customized savings offer program, notify a household of acustomized website, and provide updates that new offers or specialoffers are available to the customer on their customized website.Another desired communication channel may be a SMS message sent to anydesired mobile device such as a smart phone or tablet device. The mobiledevice may be used to notify consumers of offers via email or textmessages.

A desired communication channel may include direct mail. Direct mail maybe used to announce the customized offers savings program, notify ahousehold of a customized website, or notify the household of offerdelivery. Another desired communication channel may be retailerinteraction. As an example, when a loyalty medium is scanned at a POSdevice (e.g., register), a message may appear on the POS deviceindicating that the consumer associated with that loyalty medium may bea potential candidate for the customized offers savings program or hasfailed to view and accept an offer upon receiving notification of theoffer via email or text message. In embodiments, upon receiving theprompt on a POS device, retailer personnel may engage the consumerregarding the customized savings offer program or any outstandingoffers. Further, offers may be communicated to the consumer via amessage placed on the consumer's receipt tape after the consumer makes apurchase at the retailer. Additionally, customers may be provided withprinted receipt coupons including reminders to join the customizedoffers savings program, new offers available, the customer's shoppinglist, etc. In further embodiments, in-store kiosks may be used to accessthe customized offers savings program. Also, tags communicating offersor advertisements may be placed on retailer store shelves and on POSdevices. Additionally, communication of new offers or other customerrelevant messages may be included within a mobile application, where newoffers etc. for each customer will show up as an alert or other type ofcustomer communication when the customer opens their mobile applicationon their smart phone, tablet or other mobile device.

Reporting

Embodiments may be related to any desired reporting tools to enhance theretailer's learning and strategy development regarding the customizedoffers savings program. An example reporting tool may be used to capturekey statistics regarding the use of the program such as the number ofhouseholds registered, the number of households redeeming offers, etc.The reporting tool may further be used to provide post-analysis reportsto indicate, as an example, how much a particular offer is being used orhow much profit an offer is generating. Additionally, the reporting toolmay be used to keep track of offer redemption data to generate bills toCPG partners for program funding.

In further embodiments, a CPG generates a Notice of PromotionalAllowance (NOPA). NOPA's may represent a contract between the CPG andretailer. For example, the NOPA specifies an agreement between the CPGand the retailer denoting the amount of allowance the CPG will provideto fund a targeted promotion, which helps retailers determine pricepoints for offers.

System Diagrams

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a mobile device 300. In embodiments, themobile device 300 is identical to the mobile devices 110 and 112 (FIG.1). The mobile device 300 may be any desired smart phone such as aniPhone® from Apple®, Inc. The mobile device may be any desired tabletdevice such as an iPad®, Motorola Xoom™, etc. Mobile device 300,includes a processor 320 used to control the functions of mobile device300 and to run applications thereon, such as an electronic address book,internet browser, etc. Processor 320 may be an ARM processor or aprocessor such as a Core 2 Duo from Intel Corporation of America.Alternatively, Processor 320 may be implemented on an FPGA, ASIC orusing discrete logic circuits, as one of ordinary skill will recognize.

A user interface 310, which may include a microphone, speaker, touchscreen, keyboard or any combination thereof, allows the processor 320 toreceive input from a user of the mobile device 300, and a display 315provides feedback to the user. Display 315 may be a color or monochromeLCD display or any other display that is known.

In embodiments, mobile device 300 also includes a communicationinterface 305 and antenna 335 to communicate with other devices, such asthe server 102 (FIG. 1) another mobile device 300. Further, mobiledevice 300 may communicate with these other devices wirelessly using thecellular network (including EDGE, 3G, 4G, etc.) a WiFi connection, aBluetooth connection or any other wireless form of communication that isknown. Mobile device 300 may also communicate through a wired connectionto communication interface 305, such as a USB connection.

In embodiments, mobile device 300 includes read-only memory, ROM 330, tostore low-level functions and processes necessary to support corefunctionality, and re-writable memory 325, which stores an operatingsystem, drivers, applications, application data and user data.Re-writable memory 325 may be dynamic or static random access memory(RAM), FLASH memory, EEPROM memory, and the like. Further, portions ofthe re-writable memory 325 may be removable.

For example, re-writable memory 325 may store an application forcommunicating with server 102 (FIG. 1) to identify mobile device 300 andto provide the server 102 with access to data stored therein. Suchapplication may be downloaded, via any of the communication methodsdescribed above, from the server 102, from a software repository or froman online store, such as the App Store from Apple®, Inc. of America.Further, such an application may be an electronic address book, orelectronic personal information manager (PIM). However, the applicationmay also be a plug-in for an electronic address book or PIM alreadyinstalled on mobile device 300, a background application, driver and thelike.

As one of skill in the art would recognize, the above descriptions ofthe server 200 and mobile device 300 are merely examples and otherserver configurations and mobile devices may be used without departingfrom the scope of the present advancements.

According to some embodiments, a “module” refers to hardwarearchitecture or one or more programming architectures, or a combinationof both, configured to perform one or more designated functions.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example system 400 including one or more modules.In embodiments, the system 400 may be incorporated within the server 102(FIG. 1). In embodiments, the system 400 includes a CommunicationsModule 402, a System Interface Manager Module 404, a Registration Module406, a Profile Module 408, a Purchase History Module 410, a ProductManager Module 412, a Brand Loyalty/Switcher Module 414, an Offer BankModule 416, an Offer Allocation Module 418, a Price Point GeneratorModule 420, a Retailer Medium Manager Module 422, an Offer NotificationModule 424, an Offer Reminder Module 426, and a Report Generator Module428.

According to embodiments, the Communications Module 402 may include anydesired networking and/or communication functionality to permit theserver 102 to communicate with any desired device. As an example, if ane-mail is available for a consumer notifying that consumer of anavailable offer, the Communications Module 402 includes the logic tosend the e-mail to the consumer.

According to embodiments, the System Interface Manager Module 404includes any desired logic to provide an interface to the enterprisesystem that runs the customized offers savings program. As an example,the System Interface Manager Module 404 may be configured to provide oneor more websites that allows users to view and select offers.Additionally, the System Interface Manager Module 404 may be configuredto allow CPG partners to access the enterprise system and retrievereports.

According to embodiments, the Registration Module 406 may be configuredto provide a registration process for consumers who desire to sign upfor the customized offers savings program. In embodiments, the ProfileModule 408 may be configured to manage profiles of individual consumersthat are created in the registration process.

According to embodiments, the Purchase History Module 410 may beconfigured to keep track of all purchases by each household. Inembodiments, the Product Manager Module 412 may be configured to keeptrack of the products and brands sold at the retailer and also keeptrack of offers associated with those products and brands. The BrandLoyalty/Switcher Module 414 may be configured to keep track of any dataused to determine if a consumer is loyal to a brand or a potential brandswitcher.

According to embodiments, Offer Bank Module 416 may be configured todetermine which items should be included in the offer bank. The OfferBank Module 416 may be further configured to keep track of all availableoffers in the offer bank (e.g., list of offers available to customers).Offer types may include price point, coupon, continuity, total basket,etc. In embodiments, each offer can include one or more items. As anexample, an offer may include any flavor of a particular brand of yogurtof a particular size.

In embodiments, the Offer Allocation Module 418 may be configured toallocate offers to households. As an example, the Offer AllocationModule 418 may be configured to implement any desired allocationstrategy to identify offers that are most relevant for each householdand allocate those offers to each household. In embodiments, the PricePoint Generator Module 420 may be configured to generate a price pointfor an offer. As an example, when a household has an allocated offer,the Price Point Generator Module 420 may be configured to determine theprice for that offer. According to some embodiments, price points aredetermined independently of offer allocation. For example, price pointscan be set at various levels for a variety of pricing strategies: toentice a non-buyer to buy the product, to entice a low-buyer to buy moreof the product, to entice a brand-switcher to switch brands, etc. Oncean offer is allocated to a customer, the price point generator modulecan be configured to determine which of the pricing strategies is bestsuited for that customer for that particular offer. Therefore, in someembodiments, allocation includes at least matching the customer to theright offers and then matching the right price points to the offersalready allocated.

According to embodiments, the Retailer Medium Manager Module 422 may beconfigured to load selected offers onto a loyalty medium and keep trackof which offers have been redeemed. In further embodiments, when acustomer is purchasing a product at a POS device associated with theretailer store and swipes or scans his/her loyalty medium, the POSdevice may send a purchase notification to the enterprise systemspecifying a retailer account associated with the loyalty medium and theproduct the customer is purchasing. Accordingly, upon receiving thispurchase notification, the Retailer Medium Manager Module 422 mayretrieve the retailer account specified in the purchase notification andredeem any offers selected by the customer and associated with theproduct specified in the purchase notification.

In embodiments, the Offer Notification Module 424 may be configured tonotify each household that a new offer is available. As an example, whena new offer is allocated to a household, the Offer Notification Module424 may prepare an email notifying the household of that offer. Inembodiments, the Offer Reminder Module 426 may be configured to generatea reminder that an offer has not been selected or redeemed. According toembodiments, the Report Generator Module 428 may be configured togenerate one or more reports that enable the retailer or CPG partners todetermine at least the success of an offer.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example Database Library System 500. According tosome embodiments, the Database Library System 500 is incorporated indatabase 104 (FIG. 1). In embodiments, the system 500 includes aCommunications Library 502, a System Interface Library 504, a ProfilesLibrary 506, a Purchase History Library 508, a Products Library 510, anOffers Library 512, and a Reports Library 514.

According to embodiments, a Communications Library 502 may include anydesired communication protocols to communicate over a desired networksuch as the IP protocol for the Internet. In embodiments, the SystemInterface Library 504 may include any system formats, logos, and filesto implement an interface such as a web user interface.

According to embodiments, the Profiles Library 506 may include theprofiles of consumers who are registered to use the customized offerssavings program. In embodiments, the Purchase History Library 508 mayinclude the purchase histories of each household.

According to embodiments, the Products Library 510 may include any filesthat indicate products and brands sold at the retailer and offersassociated with those products and brands. In embodiments, the OffersLibrary 512 may operate as the offer bank and store all offers allocatedby the Offer Allocation Module 418. Items included in the Offers Library512 may be designated as an offer item (e.g., items that are availableto receive offers). Further, categories included in the Offers Library512 may be designated as an offer category (e.g., categories that areavailable to receive offers). In embodiments, the Reports Library 514may include all generated reports generated by the Report GeneratorModule 428.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example overview of the enterprise system thatimplements the customized offers savings program. In embodiments, theenterprise system may include a customer portal 600 that permitsconsumers to access the customized offers savings program via aregistration/login process 602. In embodiments, the customer portal 600and all interfaces associated by the customer portal 600 are implementedby the System Interface Manager Module 404. Upon logging into theenterprise system, according to some embodiments, consumers may thenhave access to a customized savings interface 604. In embodiments, thecustomized savings interface 604 may further include personalized deals606. According to some embodiments, personalized deals include one ormore customized offers for loyalty customers. The customized savingsinterface 604 may further include a deal match 608 providing offers thatmatch or improve upon competitor prices that are promoted within thecompetitor's store for a specified period of time. The customizedsavings interface 604 may further include a coupon center 610 providingan aggregated view of available print or digital coupons available toeach customer.

In embodiments, the customized savings interface 604 may include aninternal award status 612 indicating available rewards for the consumerlogged onto the enterprise system. In embodiments, the customizedsavings interface includes “Your Club Specials” 614. Such specialstarget specific products that correspond to a customer's purchasehistory or system perceived lifestyle/demographic. For example, “YourClub Specials” provides a list of all ad items and non ad items that thecustomer has purchased in the past. In embodiments, the customizedsavings interface 604 may further include to year-to-date savings 616showing the savings that the consumer has accumulated by using thecustomized offers and/or manufacturer offers. The customized savingsinterface 604 may also provide access to a “My Savings” list 618 showingoffers that have been selected for the customer logged onto theenterprise system. In further embodiments, the customized savingsinterface may include a preferred shopper program that provides deeperdiscounts and/or additional services. These discounts and/or servicesmay be provided to preferred loyalty customers exceeding a loyaltythreshold (e.g., month-to-month purchase amount) and are not availableto all loyalty customers. In additional embodiments, the customizedsavings interface 604 may include information about competitive pricing622 showing competitive prices for products and brands offered by theretailer.

In embodiments, the enterprise system may distribute one or morefunctions to applications run on one or more servers. In embodiments,the applications may be run on a server that is operated by the retailerbut separated from the enterprise system. FIG. 7 illustrates an exampleof distribution of functionality between the enterprise system 700 and acoupon aggregator server 702. In embodiments, the coupon aggregatorserver 702 may run a coupon presentation application such as CouponAggregator/Presenter. Advantages of distributing functionality of thecustomized offers savings program between the enterprise system andcoupon aggregator server 702 may include the ability to prevent theenterprise system from being slowed down by diverting traffic for thecustomized offers savings program to the coupon aggregator server 702.

According to some embodiments, Coupon service providers 704 may be acoupon provider that has access to the coupon aggregator server 702 toupload coupons. The customer 706 may have access to the enterprisesystem 700 and the coupon aggregator server 702. In embodiments, theenterprise system 700 may be linked to any desired offer or accountmanagement system such as Copient 708. In further embodiments, theenterprise system 700 may be linked to any desired verification systemsuch as Corema 710.

According to embodiments, functions on the enterprise system 700 mayinclude aggregating retailer data related to the customized offerssavings program such as target offer definitions 712, loading targethousehold offers 714, and loading rewards (716). Additionally, theenterprise system 700 may transfer the aggregated data as offers 718 andtransfer data associated with household purchases 720 to the couponaggregator server 702. Additionally, the enterprise system 700 maytransfer offer redemptions to the coupon aggregator server 702. Infurther embodiments, the enterprise system 700 may handle customer login 724, and if the customer 706 is not registered to use the customizedoffers savings program, the enterprise system 700 may register thecustomer 726.

According to some embodiments, functions on the coupon aggregator server702 may include processing redemptions 732 transferred from theenterprise system 700. The coupon aggregator server 702 may alsoconsolidate manufacturer coupons 734 where one or more decision rulesare used to determine which coupons (or offers) can be presented tocustomers to load to the loyalty medium, or if multiple offers have beenloaded, to determine which offers can be redeemed within a singletransaction. These decision rules may be used avoid the situation wherea customer can redeem multiple offers on the same item within a singletransaction.

According to some embodiments, the determination of which offers can beredeemed within a single transaction will be made within the retailer'spoint of sale system. This is particularly important where coupons areavailable from more than 1 coupon aggregator, which requires the rulesregarding which offers should be presented to be made by the retailer'senterprise system and/or the decision for which offers can be redeemedwithin a single transaction to be made by the retailer's point of salesystem.

The coupon aggregator server 702 may further be configured to loadretailer data 736 such as offers and purchases transferred from theenterprise system 700. Further, the coupon aggregator server 702, uponverification of a customer log in, may retrieve an authenticated profile738 of the customer. Once the customer is logged in, the couponaggregator server 702 may provide one or more interfaces to allow thecustomer to view offers 740. Additionally, the coupon aggregator server702 may provide one or more interfaces for the customer to select/clipoffers 742 or remove offers 744. Further, the one or more interfaces mayallow the customer 706 to view savings info 746.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example configuration for operating manufacturercoupons using a coupon presentation application. The configurationincludes e-coupon channel providers 800, a coupon presentationapplication such as Coupon Aggregator/Presenter 802, and a retailerloyalty marketing system 804. According to some embodiments, the CouponAggregator/Presenter 802 is run on one or more servers. In embodiments,the retailer loyalty marketing system 804 may be incorporated within theenterprise system of the retailer. According to embodiments, one or moremanufacturers 806 may issue coupons and load the coupons onto thee-coupon channel providers 800 and/or the coupon presentationapplication 802. A customer 808 may be able to register with theretailer, where the retailer forwards the customer information to thecoupon presentation application 802 permitting the customer to clipoffers. In some embodiments, the third party application 802 handlesdisplaying allocated offers and recording and sending clip information(i.e. virtual clipping of system offer data) back to the retailerloyalty marketing system 804, which performs loading of the clippedoffer onto the customer's loyalty medium. Additionally, according toembodiments, the loyalty marketing system 804 may be configured tonotify the coupon presentation application 802 of offer redemptions,while the coupon presentation application 802 may be configured tonotify the e-coupon channel providers 800 of offer redemptions. Inembodiments, the loyalty marketing system 804 may be configured to sendinvoices to clearinghouse 810 to receive payment.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example configuration for accessing a customerportal to view offers. In embodiments, a customer portal 900 mayinterface with an identity management system 902 and a couponpresentation application 906 such as a Coupon Aggregator/Presenter.According to embodiments, the customer portal 900 and identitymanagement system 902 may be comprised of one or more componentsincorporated within the enterprise system. A customer 908 may access thecustomer portal 900 via a browser of a computer 910 or a mobileapplication on any desired mobile device 911 (represented by dashedlines).

According to embodiments, the customer portal 900 may provide a sign-inpage 912 to the customer 908 via the browser 910. The customer 908 maysubmit a user ID and password information where an access manager 916retrieves user information from a database 918 running a lightweightdirectory access protocol (LDAP) to retrieve user information. If thecustomer 908 is authenticated to access the customized savings program,the customer portal 900 may return a sign-in success page 920 to thecustomer 908 via the browser 910. Once the customer 908 isauthenticated, the customer portal 900 may generate and save a tokenassociated with the customer's session 908 in the database 914.

In embodiments, the customer portal 900 may utilize a web service 922 tocontact the coupon presentation application 906. The coupon presentationapplication 906 may provide a targeted offers page 924 to the customer908 via the browser 910.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate an example architecture 1000 forimplementing the customized offers savings program. According toembodiments, the architecture 1000 may be composed of one or more layersincluding an end user's layer 1002, an external systems layer 1004, aretailer data center layer 1006, and a retailer layer 1008.

According to embodiments, an end user's layer 1002 may include one ormore manufacturers 1010 and one or more customers 1012 that interfacewith systems in the external systems layer 1004. In embodiments, theexternal systems layers 1004 may include a third party application 1014,coupon manufacturers 1016 a and coupon service providers 1016 b, and aclearing house 1018. The coupon manufacturer 1016 a may be a CPGmanufacturer. The coupon service provider 1016 b and clearing house 1018may be any party that manages tracking and paying for couponredemptions.

According to embodiments, the retailer data center layer 1006 mayinclude the customer portal 1020 and a business services system 1022.The business services system 1022 may be configured to provide customerservices such as providing login services and handling customerinquiries regarding the customized offers savings program. The retailerdata center layer 1006 may further include business systems 1024, whichmay include any desired business service systems such as an identitymanagement system, an offer management system, Corema, Central Copient,etc. The retailer data center layer 1006 may also include a resourcesystem 1026 that may have a data warehouse and a safeguards and storesingle image solution (SSIMS) to provide information to one or moresystems in the example architecture 1000. The retailer data center layer1006 may further include an integration services system 1028 that may beconfigured to keep track of information associated with offers andhandle file transfers to the third party application 1014 and theexternal systems layer 1004.

According to embodiments, the retailer layer 1008 may include a customer1032 that presents a loyalty medium to a POS controller 1034. The POScontroller 1034 may be configured to utilize the data warehouse in theresources system 1026 to retrieve customer information and identify theloyalty medium associated with a customer 1032. Additionally, the POScontroller 1034 may utilize the offer management system in the businesssystems 1024 via a retailer POS system 1036 to identify offersassociated with the loyalty medium of the customer 1032.

FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate an example network architecture forimplementing a customized offer savings program using a third partyapplication. In embodiments, the network configuration illustrated inFIGS. 11A-11C include the customer portal 1102 and a third partyapplication 1104. As illustrated in FIGS. 11A-11C, one or more customersmay log onto the customer portal 1102. Once the one or more users 1100are logged on, the customer portal 1102 may contact the third partyapplication 1104 to retrieve the customized offers for the one or morecustomers 1100. The third party application 1104 may use a web servicessystem 1106 to provide clipping and verification services. Further, theweb service system 1106 may be in communication with a logical Copientenvironment 1108 for any desired accounting and clipping services. Inembodiments, the network configuration illustrated in FIGS. 11A-11C mayinclude a logical retailer environment 1110 which may include a retailerkiosk and a point of sale device. The logical retailer environment 1110may be in communication with a redemption system 1112 that keeps trackof offer redemptions. In embodiments, any desired allocation strategyimplemented through the network configuration illustrated in FIGS.11A-11C may be run using SQL code on Teradata and Netezza platforms.

Data Collection

According to embodiments, the enterprise system may keep track ofinformation associated with customer purchases, products, and offers. Inembodiments, one or more files may be created by the modules illustratedin system 400 and stored in any one of the libraries illustrated in theDatabase Library System 500.

According to embodiments, when a customer registers with the enterprisesystem via a customer portal, a customer profile may be created for thatcustomer. Table 1 of FIG. 12 illustrates an example customer profilethat may be created upon registration of a customer. In embodiments, theProfile Module 408 may create the profile illustrated in Table 1 of FIG.12 and store and retrieve the profile in the Profiles Library 506 (FIG.5). As illustrated in Table 1, the customer profile includes a customername and a user ID and password used for login information. The customerprofile may further include a field indicating whether the customer maybe reminded at the retailer of any offers. As an example, if this fieldhas a “yes” indicator, then the customer may be reminded of any offersthe customer has not viewed or selected while purchasing items at theretailer. As an example, when a customer is purchasing an item, a POSdevice may prompt a POS clerk that the customer currently making apurchase has received an e-mail notifying the customer of new offers,but the customer has not logged into the enterprise system via thecustomer portal to view the new offers. Accordingly, upon receiving thisprompt, the POS clerk may interact with the customer to remind thecustomer of the new offers.

The customer profile may further include a medium ID, where a uniquemedium ID (e.g., card ID) is associated with each loyalty medium foreach customer. Additionally, the customer profile may indicate acustomer price zone. In embodiments, the customer price zone may beassociated with the geographic location of the customer. A customerprice zone may be used for determining price points of offers that thecustomer receives. As an example, a customer in price zone 1 may receivean offer for eggs for $1.50. However, a customer in price zone 2 mayreceiver an offer for the same brand of eggs but at a price of $1.75.Furthermore, the customer profile may indicate a survey location and apurchase history location. As an example, the survey location may be apointer to a file in the Profiles Library 506 (FIG. 5) that has a surveythe customer filled out upon registration indicating the types ofproducts for which the customer would prefer to receive offers. Asanother example, the purchase history location may be a pointer to apurchase history file located in the Purchase History Library 508 (FIG.5).

Table 2 of FIG. 13 illustrates an example product profile. A productprofile may be utilized to keep track of the products and brandsassociated with the products sold at the retailer. In embodiments, theproduct profile illustrated in Table 2 may be created and modified bythe Product Manager Module 412 (FIG. 4). In embodiments, the productprofile illustrated in Table 2 keeps track of all products sold at theretailer including each individual chain associated with the retailer.As an example, if the retailer has chains in Virginia and WashingtonD.C., the product profile illustrated in Table 2 keeps track of theproducts sold at each of the chains in Virginia and Washington D.C. Inother embodiments, an individual product profile may be created for eachchain associated with the retailer.

As illustrated in Table 2, the example product profile keeps track ofeach product and a brand associated with each product. As an example,product 1 may be associated with brands B1 and B2. Product 2 may beassociated with brands B3, B4, and B5. Additionally, the example productprofile keeps track of the date and price for which each brand of eachproduct was available. As an example, the product profile in Table 2illustrates that brand B1 of product 1 was sold at a price of $1.50 fromJan. 1, 2010 to Jan. 6, 2010. However, brand B2 of product 1 was soldduring that same time period at a price of $1.40. Accordingly, theproduct profile illustrated in Table 2 may be used in conjunction with acustomer history purchase profile to determine what brands and productswere available when customers make purchases.

Table 3 of FIG. 14 illustrates an example customer purchase historyprofile. In embodiments, the customer purchase history profileillustrated in Table 3 is created by the Purchase History Module 410(FIG. 4) and stored in the Purchase History Library 508 (FIG. 5). Inembodiments, a customer purchase history profile is created for eachcustomer having a loyalty medium. As illustrated at Table 3, a customerpurchase history profile is associated with a customer based on themedium ID included in the customer purchase history profile. As anexample, based on the medium ID included in the purchase history profileillustrated in Table 3, the medium ID is associated with the customerJohn Smith based on the customer profile illustrated in Table 1. Asillustrated in Table 3, the customer purchase history profile may keeptrack of the date, price, quantity, and markdown amount (e.g., amountpurchase price has been reduced by an offer) of each product and brandthe customer purchases. As an example, Table 3 illustrates that thecustomer John Smith purchased brand 1 of product 1 three times betweenJan. 1, 2010 and Jan. 22, 2010 at three different prices. Table 3 alsoillustrates that as the markdown amount decreased, causing the price toincrease, the quantity of brand 1 of product 1 purchased decreased.Table 3 further illustrates that between Jan. 1, 2010 and Jan. 28, 2010John Smith bought product 2 three different times at the same price butwith a different brand for each purchase.

Accordingly, the customer purchase history profile in Table 3 and theproduct profile in Table 2 may both be used to determine a customer'spreference for a particular brand product, a customer's preference for aproduct at a particular price, and the quantity purchased according tothe purchase price. As an example, Table 3 illustrates that on January1, John Smith bought brand 1 of product 1 at a price of $1.50 when brand2 of product 1 was available for $1.40 as illustrated in Table 2.Additionally, Table 3 illustrates that on Jan. 7, 2010, John Smithbought brand 1 of product 1 at a price of $1.75 even though brand 2 ofproduct 1 was available for $1.50 as illustrated in Table 2. Further,Table 3 illustrates that on Jan. 22, 2010, John Smith purchased brand 1of product 1 again at a price of $2.00 when brand 2 of product 1 wasavailable for $1.50. Thus, since Table 3 illustrates that John Smithconsistently buys brand 1 of product 1 at a higher price than brand 2 ofproduct 1, John Smith most likely has a preference for brand 1 ofproduct 1 independent of the price of brand 1. Accordingly, if the CPGmanufacturer of brand 1 is a partner (e.g., CPG partner) with theretailer, the CPG partner may be provided with an opportunity to providea customized offer to John Smith to buy brand 1, if the retailer and CPGmanufacturer believe there is an opportunity to sell more of brand 1 toJohn Smith by giving him a better price than will be available to othercustomers at the retailer. In further embodiments, a customized offer isnot provided unless both the CPG partner and retailer believe there areincremental purchases available on brand 1. Further, Table 3 may be usedto ascertain the price point that maximizes the profit for brand 1 ofproduct 1. For example, when the purchase price is $1.50 or $1.75, JohnSmith shows a tendency to purchase the same amount. Therefore, if JohnSmith is provided an offer for brand 1 product 1, the price point of theoffer may be $1.75.

As another example, Table 3 illustrates that on Jan. 1, 2010, John Smithbought brand 3 of product 2 at a price of $1.50 when brand 4 of product2 was available for $1.75, and brand 5 of product 2 was available for$2.00 on the same date. Table 3 further illustrates that on Jan. 15,2010, John Smith bought brand 4 of product 2 for a price of $1.65 whenbrand 3 of product 2 was available for $2.00, and brand 5 of product 2was available for $1.75 on the same date. Table 3 also illustrates thaton Jan. 28, 2010, John Smith bought brand 5 of product 2 at a price of$1.50 when brand 3 of product 2 was available for $2.00, and brand 4 ofproduct 2 was available for $1.75 on the same date. Additionally, Table3 illustrates that while John Smith did not purchase product 2 on Jan.7, 2010, Table 2 illustrates that the minimum price of product 2 was$1.75.

Accordingly, since John Smith purchases different brands of product 2,John Smith most likely does not have a particular brand preference forproduct 2. Additionally, since Tables 2 and 3 illustrate that John Smithdid not purchase product 2 when the minimum price for product 2 was$1.75, and the highest price that John Smith paid for product 2 was$1.65, John Smith is most likely not willing to pay a price for product2 above $1.65. Accordingly, if the CPG manufacturer of brand 3 is apartner with the retailer, whereas the CPG manufacturers of brand 4 andbrand 5 may not be partners with the retailer, the CPG manufacturer forbrand 3 may be provided the opportunity to provide a customized offerfor brand 3 of product 2 to John Smith at a price of $1.65.

If John Smith redeems this customized offer, the retailer has anopportunity to increase revenue because the retailer has the ability toensure that at least one brand of product 1 is priced at the level thatJohn Smith prefers. Thus, the retailer has a higher probability ofcapturing an additional sale in product 1. The retailer also has anopportunity to minimize the loss of profit through this transactionbecause the CPG partner for brand 3 may be willing to cover all or aportion of the incremental costs. The CPG manufacturer of brand 3 hasthe opportunity to increase profits because the CPG manufacturer hasinformation of the highest price a customer is willing to buy theproduct the CPG manufacturer produces. Additionally, if John Smithaccepts the customized offer, John Smith has the opportunity to increasehis savings because if the minimum price of product 2 is above $1.65,John Smith is guaranteed that product 2 will be available to him at$1.65 as long as his customized offer has not expired.

According to some embodiments, the Brand Loyalty/Switcher Module 414performs the analysis described above for with respect to Tables 2 and3. In further embodiments, the Price Point Generator Module 420determines the price points for the customized offers discussed abovewith respect to Tables 2 and 3.

Table 4 of FIG. 15 illustrates an example offer definition file. Inembodiments, the offer definition file is prepared by the Offer BankModule 416 and stored in the Offers Library 512. The offer definitionfile may include a unique offer ID for each offer stored in the OffersLibrary 512. Additionally, an offer may be associated with a group ofoffers where the group is identified by a group offer ID. As an example,two or more offers may be categorized in a particular group.

As illustrated in Table 4, the offer definition file may indicate anoffer type. For example, the offer type illustrated in Table 4 is pricepoint. In other embodiments, one or more other offer types discussedabove may be specified in this field. The offer definition file mayinclude a CPG and brand. As an example, the CPG illustrated in Table 4is ConFoods with brand 2. Additionally, the offer definition file mayspecify a category type for the offer, where offers for similar productsmay be grouped under the same category type. As an example, offers forbutter and milk may be grouped in a dairy category. The offerillustrated in Table 4 is for a product in the condiments and saucescategory.

An offer definition file may also be associated with an image number. Asan example, an image number may point to an image associated with theproduct being offered. The offer definition file may further include aprice point, which may represent the price for the offer. In otherembodiments, the offer may specify a dollar value off a retailer pricefor an item. Further, the offer definition file may specify offerverbiage. Offer verbiage may be text and/or descriptions describing theoffer. As illustrated in Table 4, the offer verbiage in the offerdefinition file indicates that the offer is a customized price for a24-pack 10 oz. steak sauce barbeque style. The offer definition file mayfurther specify the limits of an offer. As an example, the offerillustrated in Table 4 is for unlimited quantity through a particulardate. The offer definition file may also specify any other desiredinformation associated with the file such as promo start and end dates,a regular price for the offer, a specific list of items or UPC IDs thatare included as part of the offer, a specific list of items or UPC IDsthat are not included as part of the offer, a disclaimer associated withthe offer, etc.

Table 5 of FIG. 16 illustrates an example household allocation file. Inembodiments, the household allocation file is generated by the OfferBank Module 416 and stored in the Offers Library 512. The householdallocation file may associate a unique household ID for each householdthat is registered with the customized offers savings program.Additionally, as illustrated in Table 5, more than one loyalty medium(e.g., household medium number) may be associated with a household. Asan example, a household may have a loyalty medium for each family memberin the household. The household allocation file may further specify theoffers associated with that household by including the unique group andrank offer IDs.

Table 6 of FIG. 17 illustrates an example redemption file. Inembodiments, the redemption file is created by the Retailer MediumManager Module 422 and stored in the Offers Library 512. A redemptionfile may be used to identify the customers, via a unique loyalty mediumnumber, redeeming offers that are associated with a unique offer ID. Asillustrated in Table 6, the redemption file may specify a loyalty mediumnumber and household medium number redeeming an offer. The redemptionfile may further specify the offer ID of the offer being redeemed. Theredemption file may also include information associated with redeemingan offer including at least the date the offer was redeemed, the timethe offer was redeemed, the particular retailer where the offer wasredeemed via a store ID, a transaction ID, the POS device that was usedto redeem the offer via a register number, and the particular productthat was purchased via a UPC ID.

Table 7 of FIG. 18 illustrates an example reporting file. Inembodiments, the reporting file is created by the Report GeneratorModule 428 and stored in the Reports Library 514. A reporting file maybe created for each loyalty medium number. The reporting file may keeptrack of a customer's activities including at least the first time thecustomer logs onto the customer portal, the number of times the customerhas visited the customer portal, the number of offers the customer hasclipped (e.g., selected), etc.

Table 8 of FIG. 19 illustrates an example competitor price file. Inembodiments, the competitor price file is generated by the Offer BankModule 416 and stored in the Offers Library 512. A competitor price filemay be associated with each offer stored in the offer bank (e.g., OffersLibrary 512) by specifying an offer ID. The competitor price file mayspecify a price zone. As an example, a price zone may be associated witha geographic area. The competitor price file may further specify acompetitor name and a competitor price in the specified price zone.Additionally the competitor price file may specify a capture date. As anexample, as illustrated in Table 8, the offer ID specified in thecompetitor price file is for the offer specified in the offer definitionfile of Table 4. As discussed above, Table 4 specifies an offer forConFoods Steak Sauce Barbeque Style. Accordingly, the competitor pricefile illustrated in Table 8 indicates that the XYZ retailer on Feb. 10,2010 is selling the same item in price zone 1 for $3.49. Accordingly,the information in the competitor price file may be provided tocustomers to compare customized offers with competitor prices.

Table 9 of FIG. 20 illustrates an example price zone association file.In embodiments, the price zone association file is generated by theOffer Bank Module 416 and stored in the Offers Library 512. The pricezone association file may associate one or more loyalty medium numberswith a price zone. Accordingly, the price zone association file may beused when determining a price point for an allocated offer to aparticular loyalty medium number, the price zone associated with thatloyalty medium number.

Table 10 of FIG. 21 illustrates an example transfer image file. Inembodiments, the transfer image file is generated by the SystemInterface Manager Module 404 and stored in the System Interface Library504. The transfer image file may be used to associate images used inoffers with a unique image number. As an example, an offer for milk mayuse an image of a milk carton, which is the dairy_milk.jpg image andassociated with image 707009. In additional embodiments, the transferimage file may be used for images sent by e-mail.

Table 11 of FIG. 22 illustrates an example data elements file. Inembodiments, the data elements file is generated by the Offer BankModule 416 and stored in the Offers Library 512. The data elements filemay indicate the number of offers a customer (e.g., John Smith) hasreceived and activated the dollar value of the activated offers, and thedollar value of all the received offers. The data elements file mayprovide similar information for digital coupon offers and a personalizedprice. In embodiments, a digital coupon offer is for one time use and apersonalized price offer is a price point that can be redeemed multipletimes until an expiration date. The data elements file may also specifya year to date savings for the customized offers, digital coupons, andpersonalized price offers. The data elements file may be used todetermine the percentage of received offers that a customer activates,and the customer's year to date savings on those offers that wereactivated.

User Interfaces

FIGS. 23-41 illustrate example interfaces for a customer portal. Inembodiments, when a customer accesses the customer portal, the SystemInterface Manager Module 404 retrieves an interface from the SystemInterface Library 504 corresponding to a particular view requested bythe customer. In embodiments, an interface is a page including browserexecutable code that may be displayed in any desired browser, includinga mobile application available on a smart phone, tablet or equivalentdevice. In embodiments, an interface may include one or more inputareas, which may be any desired mechanism, such as a text box, forreceiving customer data and/or selection(s).

FIG. 23 illustrates an example customer portal interface 2300. Asillustrated in the user interface 2300, the user may click a registerbutton 2302. The user may further access a coupon center 2302 to viewcoupons, personalized deals 2304, club specials 2306, deal match 2308 orloyalty rewards 2310.

FIG. 24A illustrates an example sign-in/registration interface 2400including registration 2402 and sign in buttons 2404. As an example, thesign-in/registration interface 2400 is accessed by selecting thepersonalized deals 2304 from the customer portal interface 2300. FIG.24B illustrates an example sign-in/registration interface 2406 includingregistration 2408 and sign in 2410 buttons. As an example, thesign-in/registration interface 2406 is accessed by selecting the yourclub specials 2306 from the customer portal interface 2300.

FIG. 24C illustrates an example login interface 2412. The logininterface 2412 may be accessed by selecting any one of sign in buttons2404 and 2410 from sign-in/registration interfaces 2400 and 2406respectively. A user may log into the enterprise system via the customerportal by entering login information in a login area 2414. If a userdoes not desire to log into the enterprise system but wants to see asampling of offers that are available to users, the user may select aview offers button 2416. If the user is not a member and desires toregister with the enterprise system, the user may select a registerbutton 2418.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example registration user interface 2500 forregistering with the enterprise system. The registration user interface2500 may include one or more input areas to enter identificationinformation such as an e-mail address 2502, password information 2504, asecurity question 2506, and location information such as a zip code2508. Upon entering the desired information for registration, a user mayclick the register button 2510 to submit the registration information.

FIG. 26A illustrates an example contact information user interface 2600.The contact information user interface may include one or more inputareas for entering a phone number 2602 or a loyalty medium number 2604,which may be linked to a user's account. The contact information userinterface 2600 may further include one or more input areas 2606 to entercontact information such as a name and address. Additionally, thecontact information user interface 2600 may include one or more inputareas 2608 for entering household information for additional savings forthe household. Upon entering the desired information in the contact userinformation interface 2600, the user may select a save changes button2610 to save the changes to the user's account. FIG. 26B illustratesanother example contact information user interface 2612 that issubstantially similar to user interface 2600 except for an area to entera referral code 2614. A referral code may be used to identify any otherloyalty customer that referred the customer registering with the savingsprogram. For example, upon entering the referral code, the loyaltycustomer associated with the referral code may receive additional offersor extra discounts.

FIG. 27 illustrates an example registration user interface 2700 forregistering for the user with the customized offers savings program. Theregistration user interface 2700 may include one or more input areas2702 for entering identification information and loyalty mediuminformation to be linked to the user's account. If the user does nothave a loyalty medium, the user may select an “apply” button 2704 toapply for a loyalty medium. Upon entering the desired information in theregister user interface 2700, the user may click the select button 2706to link the entered information to their account.

According to embodiments, one or more surveys may be provided to userswho desire to enter information regarding products for which the userwould like to receive offers. FIG. 28 illustrates an example survey userinterface 2800. A survey user interface 2800 may include one or moreinput areas 2802 for selecting products for which the user would like toreceive offers. The survey user interface 2800 may further include oneor more input areas 2804 for entering information for which the userwould like to receive offers. Upon entering the desired information inthe survey user interface 2800, the user may select the submit button2806 to link the entered survey information to their account.

According to some embodiments, customer survey information is used forsegment marketing, where customers get specialized targeted offers basedon need or preference such as baby offers, pet (dog, cat, both, etc.)offers, wine offers, and offers related to dietary restrictions orhealth oriented preferences (gluten free, sugar free, etc.) For example,the customer can specify in a survey that the customer desires to obtainoffers for particular items. Additionally, segment marketing may bebased on a customer's previous purchase history for an item or category.

According to some embodiments, offers are provided around lifestyles orlife stages such as healthy lifestyle (fresh produce), an athleticlifestyle (health drinks, vitamins, power bar), new family life stage(baby products) etc. As an example, the survey user interface 2800 caninclude a category such as “Healthy Lifestyle” where the customerselects from a variety of health related products (e.g., multivitamins)for which the customer desires to receive a personalized offer. Inanother example, the customer information may be used for nutritionbased targeting where gluten free offers are provided to customers whohave indicated a preference for gluten free items. In other examples,the nutrition based targeting provides offers that are tailored to meetany desired diet (e.g., Atkins diet, South Beach diet, etc.), dietaryrestriction (e.g., low sodium, fat free, etc.), or healthcondition/disease state (e.g., heart healthy items).

Further embodiments include “U Pick offers,” where the customer informsthe retailer what offers they want from a pre-populated drop down listprepared by the retailer and presented to the customer. In someembodiments the U Pick list will include the price that the retailer iswilling to provide to the customer as part of the offer. In otherembodiments the U Pick list will allow the customer to specify the pricethey are willing to pay for the item, and the retailer will then decidebased on cost and other factors whether they want to offer the item tothe customer at the desired price.

The U Pick list is pre-populated with items of particular relevance tothe customer. Each selected item from the drop down list will be addedto the customer's loyalty medium. In an alternative embodiment, the “UPick Offers” will only present offers to the customer that will lead toan incremental sale at the retailer (i.e., a sale above and beyond anormal purchase habit). In some embodiments, the U Pick list permits thecustomer to select the price associated with an offer. In otherembodiments, the customer is not provided the ability to select theprice associated with an offer.

In embodiments, a user cannot register for a customized offers savingsprogram without applying for a loyalty account. If a user does not havea loyalty medium linked to the user's account, the user portal maydisplay a page to indicate that the enterprise system does not have anyinformation regarding the user's loyalty medium. FIG. 29 illustrates anexample notification user interface 2900 that indicates that there is noloyalty medium information on record for the user. If the user has aloyalty medium and only needs to update their account information, theuser may select the update my loyalty medium info button 2902. If theuser does not have a loyalty medium, the user may select the link 2904to apply for a loyalty medium.

FIG. 30A illustrates an example introduction user interface. Asillustrated in FIG. 30, upon registering for the customized offerssavings program, the introduction user interface 3000 may be displayedto the user. FIG. 30B illustrates another introduction user interface3002 for the coupon center showing a sampling of coupons (3004, 3006)available to the user. The user may select the save now button 3008 toview and select coupons. According to embodiments, the coupon centerpresents coupons sorted for relevance according to a customer's purchasehistory. For example, if the customer purchase history indicates apreference for a particular product or brand, then any coupons for thatparticular product or brand will be presented first in the interface3002. FIG. 30C illustrates another introduction user interface 3010 forpersonalized deals showing a sampling of personalized deals (3012, 3014)available to the user. The user may select the save now button 3016 toview and select personalized deals.

FIG. 31 illustrates an example offer selection user interface 3100. Theoffer selection user interface may display one or more offers 3102,3112, 3114, and 3116. As illustrated in the offer selection userinterface 3100, each offer may include a product, an offer price forthat product, a competitor's price for that product, and an option toadd that offer to the user's account. For example, the offer selectionuser interface 3100 shows that for offer 3102, the user has received anoffer for Product 1 3102 at an offer price of Price 1 (3106).Additionally, the offer selection user interface 3100 shows that acompetitor's price 3108 for Product 1 (3104). If a user desires to addoffer 3102 for Product 1 (3104) to the user's account, the user mayselect the add button 3110.

FIGS. 32A and 32B illustrate another example offer selection userinterface 3200. The offer selection user interface 3200 may beassociated with a navigation pane 3202 permitting a user to select linksto one or more other user interfaces such as a savings list, an offerview by category, or an offer view by brand. The offer user selectioninterface 3200 may include a related links area 3204 to guide the userto other offers allocated to the user. The user may select aprint/e-mail shopping list button 3206 to print or email any of theuser's shopping lists. The offer selection user interface 3200 mayfurther include a scroll feature 3208 to view more offers on anotherpage.

According to some embodiments, the offer selection user interface 3200illustrates one or more offers such as offer 3210. As an example, theoffer 3210 may include a product image 3212, an offer price 3214A, aregular price 3214B, and offer verbiage 3216. The offer 3210 may furtherinclude an offer limit 3218. As an example, the offer limit may specifya purchase quantity limit and/or an expiration date. As an example, theoffer limit 3218 included in the offer 3210 specifies that for theproduct displayed in 3212, the user may purchase an unlimited amount ofthe product until Apr. 19, 2011. If the user desires to add offer 3210to the user's loyalty medium, the user may select the add button 3220.

FIGS. 33A and 33B illustrate an example club selection user interface3300 that displays club specials available to the user such as clubspecial 3302. FIGS. 34A and 34B illustrate an example coupon selectionuser interface 3400 including a sorting pane 3402 permitting the user tosort the user's coupons by any desired category. For example, asillustrated in FIGS. 34A and 34B, the user can sort coupons according tothe user's purchase history where coupons for the user's most frequentlypurchased items are displayed first.

The coupon interface includes one or more coupon offers such as couponoffer 3404, which may include a coupon price 3406 and a coupon limit3408. In embodiments, the coupon price 3406 may be a general price thatis provided to one or more users independent of the price of the productat the retailer. The coupon limit 3408 may specify that the coupon isavailable one time and expires on a particular date. FIGS. 35A and 35Billustrate another example coupon interface 3500.

FIG. 36 illustrates an example savings list user interface 3600. Asavings list may display the offers the user has selected and loadedonto the user's loyalty medium. As an example, the savings list userinterface 3600 includes a savings chart 3602 that shows that the userhas selected Product 1 at Price 1 for an unlimited quantity that expireson Jan. 31, 2010.

FIG. 37A illustrates another example savings list user interface 3700displaying a savings list 3702. Each product listed in the savings list3702 may specify a product name, savings price, a product description, apurchase quantity limit, and an expiration date. The user may have theoption of e-mailing 3704, transmitting to a mobile device 3706, orprinting 3708 the user's savings list. FIG. 38 illustrates an exampleprint savings list user interface 3800, which shows a printable form ofthe user's savings list 3702 (FIG. 37). FIG. 37 illustrates an examplesavings list user interface 3710 that is provided to the user's emailregistered with the user's account.

FIG. 39A illustrates an example rewards user interface 3900 displayingthe status of a rewards program. In embodiments, a rewards program maybe any program that rewards a user after a predetermined number ofpurchases for a particular product have been made. As an example, therewards user interface 3900 shows that the user is part of a rewardsprogram called “Coffee Club” where the user needs two more purchases ofcoffee to get one coffee free.

FIG. 39B illustrates an example savings user interface 3902 displayingthe user's year-to-date savings for the customized offers program. Thesavings user interface 3902 may include a link 3904 that permits theuser to manage the user's loyalty medium info.

FIG. 40 illustrates an example savings reports user interface 4000 thatdisplays a savings report associated with the user. In embodiments, thesavings report illustrated in FIG. 41 is prepared by the ReportGenerator Module 428 (FIG. 4) and retrieved from the Reports Library(514). The savings reports user interface 4000 may display the user'syear-to-date savings and the user's savings by category. As an example,the savings reports user interface 4000 shows that the user has saved atotal of $150 with $100 in products in the dairy category, $30 inproducts in the condiments category, and $20 in products in the softdrinks category.

In embodiments, when the Offer Allocation Module 418 allocates one ormore new offers to a customer, the Offer Notification Module 424 mayprepare and send an email to the customer informing the customer to loginto the enterprise system via the customer portal to view the one ormore new offers. FIG. 41A illustrates an example email 4100 notifyingthe customer of new offers.

Further embodiments include a notification of discount savings on aregister receipt. For example, after a customer completes a purchase andreceives a receipt, the receipt may indicate the customer's savings.Embodiments present a summary of savings received in each transactionfrom personalized offers so that customers can see their savings duringeach shopping trip. FIG. 41B illustrates an example receipt 4102displaying the customer's savings for the customer's purchase.

Additional embodiments include a notification of savings the customercould have received if they loaded items to their loyalty medium. Forexample, items that are offered to each customer that they could haveloaded to their loyalty medium but didn't are flagged. Therefore, whenthe customer purchases one of those items, the retailer can tell thecustomer on the register receipt the level of savings they could achieveif they had selected the offer.

Specialized Programs

According to some embodiments, a loyalty rewards savings program isprovided to customers and/or households, where rewards are provided tothe customers and/or households according to incremental spending over aperiod of time. As an example, the loyalty rewards program can providebenefits (e.g., discounts, savings, rewards, etc.) to the customer inreturn for a household's incremental spending at a retailer above a baselevel of spending. In some embodiments, the base level of spending ismeasured for a period of time prior to the customer being eligible forloyalty rewards. As an example, when a household signs up for theloyalty rewards program, the household's spending at the retailer ismeasured over a predetermined time period (e.g., two months) before thehousehold is eligible for any rewards under the loyalty rewards program.In further embodiments, prior to allocation of any rewards to anyhousehold under the loyalty rewards program, the base level of spendingfor each household registering with the loyalty rewards program ismeasured for the predetermined period of time (e.g., two months).

According to some embodiments, upon determination of the base level ofspending for each household, a promotion period starts where theretailer compares the total eligible spending for the household to thebase level spending of the household to determine the amount ofincremental spending the household has spent with the retailer duringthe promotion period. In embodiments, the level of incremental spendingis subsequently compared to a matrix that plots the benefit levelassociated with the level of incremental spending by the household. Asan example, the level of benefit to the household (e.g., discounts,savings, rewards, etc.) can increase as the household reaches higherlevels of incremental spending at the retailer.

FIG. 42 illustrates an example loyalty rewards program interface 4200showing a matrix that plots the benefit level associated with the levelof incremental spending. As illustrated in FIG. 42, when the user spendsat least $50 per week at the retailer for three months, the user startsreceiving incremental rewards based on the amount the user is spending.For example, if the user spends at least $50 per week during Aprilthrough June, the user starts receiving incremental rewards in Julywhere, if the user spends at least $70 a week, the user receives atleast 1% savings off their total spend with the retailer on everytransaction during the month of July. Further, as illustrated in FIG.42, the level of rewards provided to the user may be increased as theuser continues meet the requirements of the loyalty rewards program. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 42, the user receives at least 3% insavings during the month of August if the user continues to spend atleast $70 a week for a second consecutive month, and 4% in savingsduring the month of September if the user continues to spend at least$70 per week for a third consecutive month.

According to some embodiments, the retailer rewards the household forthe level of incremental spending following the promotion period as alump sum amount, a percentage savings on every transaction with theretailer, a percentage savings within a certain type of product categorywithin the retailer (e.g., fuel station, pharmacy, etc.), or in anyother desired way that provides benefit to the customer. In furtherembodiments, the benefits (e.g., discounts, savings, rewards, etc.) areapplied directly to a payment card, such as a retailer payment card, anytype of debit or credit card the customer has registered with theretailer, or any other desired form of payment such as a digital wallet,re-loadable gift card, etc. In further embodiments, the retailer has thecapability to identify certain areas of the store where the benefit isrewarded at a higher level. For example, an incremental dollar spent onfood may be worth X benefit, while an incremental dollar spent onpharmacy may be worth X+Y benefit.

Therefore, the loyalty rewards savings program provides a broad basedreward only to incremental spending at the customer or household level.Therefore, the loyalty rewards program provides a personalized rewardprogram that is focused on incremental spending. According toembodiments, offers are based on a preferred customer program thatidentifies “Preferred” customers and delivers customized specialservices or offers. As an example, a “Preferred” customer may be acustomer that spends at least a specific dollar amount over apredetermined time period (e.g., $1000 a month). Special services oroffers provided under the preferred program may include the opportunityto have direct access with a store manager upon request while shoppingor an exclusive customer service number not provided to the generalpublic to provide faster service. Other special services can include aspecial pharmacy call in telephone number, a wine concierge call inline, or any other type of special service that is only available topreferred customers. According to some embodiments, preferred customerswill receive additional offers or special offers that would nototherwise be provided to the customer. An example would be an additional10 cents off fuel discount on every fuel transaction, or any other typeof benefit (savings, reward, discount) that would be available to thepreferred customer as a special offer.

According to embodiments, the retailer loyalty program can providetargeted hot offers to customers engaged in the loyalty program. Theseoffers are extra “hot”, meaning they will have deeper discounts than aretypically available in the marketplace, including some offers that maybe free. As an example, a “hot” offer can provide an additional 50%discount to an offer that has been allocated to the customer.Alternatively, if an offer has not already been allocated to thecustomer, a “hot” offer can provide the additional 50% discount prior toallocation of the offer to the customer. Hot offers may be provided inconjunction with CPG partnership and create an additional ability todrive loyalty behavior. For example, a hot offer would be an offerbeyond a current or expected level of discount. In some embodiments, thecustomer can only receive the extra hot offer by loading the offer fromthe retailer website or mobile application. In further embodiments,offers are based on a specialized global hot offers program thatprovides extra hot offers to all households in a certain operating area.In some embodiments these hot offers will be targeted, meaning that outof a set of all potential available hot offers, each customer in theoperating area will get the offer that is most relevant for thatindividual customer. Targeted hot offers are particularly valuable indriving trial and awareness of new products available within the retailstore, or in driving trial and awareness of existing products availablewithin the retail store that have an opportunity to reach a new set ofcustomers. In some embodiments, the retailer can partner with a CPGmanufacturer to provide a targeted hot offer to a targeted set ofcustomers, where the target is exactly the segment of customers the CPGpartner wants to reach. In return for being able to target the uniquesegment of customers, the CPG partner may be willing to pay for some orall of the cost associated with providing the hot offer to the targetedset of customers.

According to some embodiments, offers are based on a deal of theday/meal of the day program. As an example, a deal of the day/meal ofthe day offer may expire after a short period of time (e.g., good forone day) and may be provided in limited quantity (e.g., only the first Xhundred or thousand customers receive the specialized offer). Therefore,these specialized offers provide additional incentive for customers tobe loyal to the retailer and visit the retailer's website or mobiledevice application on a daily basis.

According to some embodiments, offers are based on a nutrition basedtargeting program. For example, nutrition based targeting offers may bebased on a customer's specific nutritional needs (e.g., gluten freeitems) specified by the customer. As another example, nutrition basedtargeting offers may be based on a customer's purchase behavior (e.g.,customer demonstrates preference for a certain type of item).

According to some embodiments, a retailer can provide a game thatpermits customers to vote on offers. An offer game is provided as aFacebook application or any other desired social media networkingapplication. In further embodiments, the offer game can be provided onthe iPhone®, Android™, Blackberry®, or any other desired mobileplatform. In additional embodiments, the offer game is accessible fromany personal computer or terminal/kiosk.

In some embodiments, the offer game permits users to vote on offers theretailer selects in regular intervals. For example, the retailerprovides one game per day and selects ten offers in each game. Anyregistered users of the game can select/vote for five offers in eachgame. The aggregate result of voting is displayed the day after the gameis provided. The five offers with the most votes may be provided asoffers to customers who voted in the game, where the users can addoffers to their loyalty mediums. The five offers with the least votesmay not show prices, and users that choose them can see the offers andcan also add those offers to their loyalty mediums. FIG. 43A illustratesan example offer game interface 4300 permitting game participants tovote for product offers. FIG. 43B illustrates another example offer gameinterface 4302 showing the offers that are available to be loaded on thegame participants' loyalty mediums based on the voting results.

In further embodiments, users earn points and badges based on theirvotes. Users can further suggest offers based on competitors ads, invitefriends, and display their badges in game play status on the user'ssocial network account (e.g., Facebook).

The offer game benefits the users by providing an exciting and engagingexperience with the retailer, where the user can receive additionaloffers. Further, the offer game provides the retailer with informationon the users' preferences, so that the retailer can understand the usersbetter. The offer game further provides the retailer with information ona competitors pricing and offers. Further, the offer game providesadvertising opportunities for CPGs and therefore, provides the CPGs withadditional opportunities for increasing revenue.

Convenience Programs

According to some embodiments, loyalty medium specials offers areprovided according to current specials provided by the retailer. Forexample, the retailer sorts the current specials running in the storebased on the customer's most likely preferences. Therefore, upon loggingonto the customer's account, the customer has the ability to sort andview the loyalty medium offers that are currently on special (i.e., havea reduced price). In further embodiments, when a coupon is available touse in addition to a personalized offer or loyalty medium special, theretailer communicates the availability of the coupon to the customer.

According to some embodiments, the retailer determines the net price theCustomer pays when using a coupon. As an example, if a customer printsout a coupon for $1.00 off an item, and the item purchase price is$10.00, the coupon indicates that the purchase price is $9.00 uponredemption of the coupon. Therefore, the customer does not need to knowthe regular purchase price for an item and perform the calculation todetermine the net price.

Administrative Tools

FIG. 44A illustrates an example administrator interface 4400. Inembodiments, an administrator may input a loyalty medium number in thenumber input area 4402 to see loaded and unloaded offers for the enteredloyalty medium number. FIG. 44B illustrates another exampleadministrator interface 4404.

My Shopping List

Additional embodiments include a My Shopping List, which is anaggregated list that includes personalized deals, coupons, clubspecials, deal match items and other targeted offers or reward elementsthat have been added to the shopping list—that is sorted by category,and includes the relevant info so that the customer can easily shop thestore and receive their discounts. FIGS. 45A-45C illustrate exampleshopping lists 4500, 4502, and 4504, respectively.

In Store List Printing

According to some embodiments, customers registered with the retailercan print their shopping lists in a retailer's store via aterminal/kiosk. For example, a customer creates a shopping list on theircomputer. When the customer goes to their local retailer store, thecustomer swipes their loyalty medium at an in-store shopping listterminal/kiosk. In an alternative example, the customer uses theirmobile device number or pin to log in to the shopping listterminal/kiosk. The shopping list terminal/kiosk system retrieves thecustomer's shopping list from the retailer's database and prints thecustomer's personal shopping list. As an example, any of the shoppinglists illustrated in FIGS. 45A-45C or any other desired shopping list isavailable at the shopping list terminal/kiosk.

In some embodiments, the content of the personal shopping list includessections organized by aisle number, items of the customer's shoppinglist in each section, additional retail offers based on the customer'spersonal shopping history, additional manufacturer coupons and localadvertisement at the back of the printout, and/or additional retailercorporate marketing messages. Thus, the customer may use the shoppinglist to guide the customer shopping through the aisles.

Registration, Offer Selection, and Offer Redemption Flow Charts

FIG. 46 illustrates an example process for registering a user with theenterprise system and the customized offers savings program. Inembodiments, the process illustrated in FIG. 46 may be performed by theRegistration Module 406. The process may generally start at 4600 where acustomer portal log-in page is provided to a user attempting to log into the enterprise system. Process flow proceeds to 4602 to determine ifthe user is registered with the enterprise system. If the user is notregistered with the enterprise system, process flow proceeds from 4602to 4604 to provide the user with the enterprise system registration pagesuch as the registration page illustrated in the registration userinterface 2500. Process flow proceeds to 4606 to determine if the userhas successfully registered with the enterprise system. If the user hasnot successfully registered with the enterprise system, process flowreturns from 4606 to 4604. If the user has successfully registered withthe enterprise system, process flow proceeds from 4606 to 4608 todetermine if the user is registered with the customized offers savingsprogram. Additionally, if the user is registered with the enterprisesystem at 4602, process flow proceeds from 4602 to 4608.

If the user is registered with the customized offers program, theprocess illustrated in FIG. 46 ends. If the user is not registered withthe customized offers savings program, process flow proceeds from 4608to 4610 to provide the customized offers registration page to the usersuch as the registration page illustrated in the registration userinterface 2700.

Process flow proceeds to 4612 to determine if the user has successfullyregistered with the customized offers savings program. As an example,the user may not have successfully registered if the user entered aninvalid loyalty medium number. If the user has not successfullyregistered with the customized offers savings program, process flowproceeds from 4612 to 4614 to determine if the user has a loyaltymedium. If the user does not have a loyalty medium, process flowproceeds from 4614 to 4616 to apply for the loyalty medium. Process flowreturns from 4616 to 4610 upon applying for the loyalty medium. If theuser does have a loyalty medium but has not successfully registered(e.g., the user entered incorrect information in the registration page),process flow returns from 4614 to 4610 to permit the user to try toregister for the customized offers savings program again.

If the user has successfully registered with the customized offerssavings program, process flow proceeds from 4612 to 4618 to determine ifthe user has filled out a survey such as the survey page displayed inthe survey user interface 2800. If the user has not filled out thesurvey, process flow proceeds to 4620 to provide the survey page to theuser. After the user has filled out the survey page, the processillustrated in FIG. 46 ends. If the user has already filled out thesurvey at 4618, the process illustrated in FIG. 46 ends.

FIG. 47 illustrates an example process for displaying an offer selectionuser page to a user. The process may generally start at 4700 todetermine if a user has logged into the enterprise system via thecustomer portal. If the user has not logged into the enterprise system,process flow proceeds from 4702 to wait for a user.

If the user has logged into the enterprise system, process flow proceedsfrom 4700 to 4704 to determine if the user has registered for thecustomized offers savings program. If the user has not registered forthe customized offers savings program, process flow proceeds from 4704to 4706 to provide the user with the registration process such as theregistration process illustrated in FIG. 46. Upon registering with thecustomized offers savings program, process flow proceeds form 4706 to4708 to provide an offers page to the user such as the offers pageillustrated in the offer selection user interface 3200. In someembodiments, if this is the first time the user is logging into theiraccount, all offers will be available to select to load onto theirloyalty medium. If the user has already selected offers in a previoussession this information is saved and displayed upon the userre-entering the site. Additionally, if the user is already registeredfor the customized offers savings program, process flow proceeds from4704 to 4708.

Process flow proceeds to 4710 to determine if a user has selected anoffer. If a user has selected an offer, process flow proceeds from 4710to 4712 to update the user's loyalty medium to include the selectedoffer. In embodiments, the Retailer Medium Manager Module 422 updatesthe user's loyalty medium as functionally described above. Process flowproceeds to 4714 to update the user's savings list with the selectedoffer. Process flow proceeds to 4716 to determine if a user has selectedthe view savings list. Additionally, if a user has not selected anoffer, process flow proceeds from 4710 to 4716.

If the user has selected the view savings list, the process flowproceeds from 4716 to 4718 to display the savings list such as thesavings list illustrated in the savings list interface 3700. Processflow proceeds from 4720 to determine if the user has switched to theoffers page. If the user has switched to the offers page, process flowreturns from 4720 to 4708. If the user has not switched to the offerspage, process flow returns from 4720 to 4718.

If the user has not selected the view savings list, process flowproceeds from 4716 to 4722 to determine if the user has logged out. Ifthe user has not logged out, process flow returns from 4722 to 4708. Ifthe user has logged out, the process illustrated in FIG. 47 ends.

FIG. 48 illustrates an example customer purchase flow chart. Inembodiments, the process illustrated in FIG. 48 is performed when acustomer makes a purchase. The process may generally start at 4800 todetermine whether a customer has made a purchase. If the customer hasnot made a purchase, process flow proceeds to 4802 to wait for acustomer purchase. If the customer has made a purchase, process flowproceeds from 4800 to 4804 to determine if the customer has scanned aloyalty medium. If the customer has scanned the loyalty medium, processflow proceeds from 4804 to 4812 to update the customer's purchasehistory profile as functionally described above.

If the customer has not scanned the loyalty medium, process flowproceeds from 4804 to 4806 to remind the customer to scan the loyaltymedium. If the customer indicates they do not have a loyalty medium,process flow proceeds from 4808 to 4810 where the customer is remindedthat the retailer offers a loyalty medium program. The process endsafter the customer is reminded of the retailer's loyalty medium program.If the customer has a loyalty medium, process flow returns from 4808 to4804.

If the customer has swiped a loyalty medium, process flow proceeds from4806 to 4814 to determine if the customer is registered with thecustomized offers savings program. If the customer is not registeredwith the customized offers savings program, process flow proceeds from4814 to 4816 where the customer may be informed of the customized offerssavings program. The process ends after the customer is informed of thecustomized offers savings program.

If the customer is registered with the customized offers savingsprogram, process flow proceeds from 4814 to 4818 to determine whetherthe customer has an offer for the item the customer is purchasing. Ifthe customer does not have an offer for the purchased item, the processillustrated in FIG. 48 ends. If the customer has an offer for thepurchased item, process flow proceeds from 4818 to 4820 to redeem theoffer and update the customer's account to indicate that the offer hasbeen applied to the purchased item. Process flow proceeds to 4822 todetermine if the customer has failed to visit the offers page uponreceiving a notification. If the customer has not received any newoffers or has viewed any new offers, the process illustrated in FIG. 48ends. If the customer has failed to visit the offers page upon receivingnotification of a new offer, process flow proceeds from 4822 to 4824 todetermine if the retailer clerk may remind the customer of the newoffer. If the clerk cannot remind the customer of the new offer, theprocess illustrated in FIG. 48 ends. If the clerk may remind thecustomer of the new offer, process flow proceeds from 4824 to 4826 wherethe clerk reminds the customer about the new offer.

As an example, if a customer has received an email regarding a newlyallocated offer, and the customer has not viewed that offer, the OfferReminder Module 426 may generate a reminder that appears on a POS deviceinforming the retailer clerk to remind the customer of the new offer.However, if the customer's profile, such as the profile illustrated inTable 1 of FIG. 12, indicates that the customer may not be reminded, noreminder is generated.

Allocation Strategy

In embodiments, an offer allocation strategy may be based on allocatingoffers to provide incentives to make extra trips to the retailer orpurchase additional products. An offer allocation strategy may furtherbe directed towards increasing retailer sales by identifying relevantnon-buyer opportunity gaps and incremental category spend opportunities.

FIG. 49 illustrates an example chart showing 20 of the top selling rapidconsumable categories. As illustrated in FIG. 49, 13 of the 20categories include a brand switching partner in the category. FIG. 50illustrates an example chart showing the top ten categories having thehighest share of wallet (SOW). As an example, the share of wallet mayserve as a performance indicator of how much business the retailer getsfrom specific customers. In embodiments, the top selling rapidconsumable categories and categories having the highest share of walletmay be given higher priority when allocating offers.

FIG. 51 illustrates an example chart for identifying potential brandswitchers for each brand in each category. As an example, each categorybuyer for a particular brand is classified as a low category, mediumcategory, or high category buyer. In embodiments, the classification ofcategory buyers may be based on the amount of money the category buyerspends on the category compared to the total amount the category buyerspends on all other categories. As illustrated in FIG. 51, each categorybuyer may be classified as a particular brand buyer such as never buyingthe brand or as a 1× exclusive buyer of the brand. Category buyers mayfurther be classified as low brand buyers (e.g., buying the brand lessthan 20% of the time the user buys an item in the category), as mediumbrand buyers (e.g., buying the brand between 20%-60% of the time theuser buys an item in the category); as high brand buyers (e.g., buyingthe brand between 60%-80% of the time the user buys an item in thecategory), and as loyal brand buyers (e.g., buying the brand between80-100% of the time the user buys an item in the category).

According to some embodiments, category buyers classified in the portionof the chart containing an “X” may be identified as potential brandswitchers. As an example, category buyers that rarely buy a brand (e.g.,one time brand buyer or low brand buyer) may be considered as apotential brand switcher since these category buyers may be more likelyto switch to another brand if provided an offer. However, categorybuyers that almost exclusively buy a brand (e.g., high brand buyer orloyal brand buyer) may not be considered as a potential brand switchersince these category buyers may be less likely to switch to anotherbrand if provided an offer. In alternative embodiments, each categorybuyer illustrated in FIG. 51 is identified as a potential brand switcherregardless of how often the category buyer purchases a particular brand.

FIGS. 52A and 52B illustrate an example process for allocating offers toone or more households. The process may generally start at 5200 toselect a category. In embodiments, the categories available for offerselection may be predetermined such as the categories listed in FIGS. 49and 50. Process flow proceeds to 5202 to identify the category buyers ofthe selected category. Process flow proceeds to 5204 to classify thecategory buyers as functionally described above with respect to FIG. 51.Process flow proceeds to 5206 to determine if the category is a brandswitching category. If the selected category is a brand switchingcategory, process flow proceeds from 5206 to 5208 to perform a brandswitching allocation process to identify potential brand switchers. Asan example, a category is identified as a brand switching category ifthere is at least one brand switching partner associated with theselected category.

Process flow proceeds to 5210 to determine if the category is in theoffer bank. Additionally, if the selected category is not a brandswitching category, process flow proceeds from 5206 to 5210. If thecategory is in the offer bank, process flow proceeds from 5210 to 5212to perform the declining category offer allocation to determine whethera category buyer's spending on the selected category is decreasing.

Process flow proceeds to 5214 to determine if the category is anexpandable consumption category. Additionally, if the selected categoryis not in the offer bank, process flow proceeds from 5210 to 5214. Ifthe category is an expandable consumption category, process flowproceeds from 5214 to 5216 to perform the buyer promotion offerallocation to determine the likelihood that a category buyer buys anitem on promotion.

Process flow proceeds from 5216 to 5218 to determine if the selectedcategory is promo sensitive. If the selected category is promosensitive, process flow proceeds from 5218 to 5220 to perform theopportunity gap versus peer gap offer allocation to determineopportunities to increase retailer sales.

If the category is not promo sensitive, process flow proceeds from 5218to 5222 to determine if the selected category is a high penetration oraffinity category. As an example, an affinity category is a categorythat is commonly purchased by customers that purchase another category.For example customers who buy peanut butter commonly buy jelly as well.Therefore, jelly is an affinity category to peanut butter. Additionally,if the selected category is not an expandable consumption category,process flow proceeds from 5214 to 5222. If the category is a highpenetration or affinity category, process flow proceeds from 5222 to5224 to perform the high penetration and affinity offer allocation.

Process flow proceeds to 5226 to determine if there are any categoriesremaining for offer allocation. Additionally, if the selected categoryis not a high penetration or affinity category, process flow proceedsfrom 5222 to 5226. If there are no categories remaining for offerallocation, the process illustrated in FIGS. 52A and 52B ends. If thereare categories remaining for offer allocation, process flow returns from5226 to 5200.

FIG. 53 illustrates an example brand switching offer allocation process.According to some embodiments, the offer allocation process iteratesthrough each brand and category buyer of the selected category todetermine if the category buyer should be allocated a brand switchingoffer. In embodiments, process flow may be directed from 5208 in theoffer allocation process illustrated in FIGS. 52A and 52B to 5300.

The process may generally start at 5300 to select a brand selected fromthe selected category. Process flow proceeds to 5302 to select a buyerfrom the selected category. Process flow proceeds to 5304 to determineif the buyer is a low category buyer. If the buyer is a low categorybuyer, process flow proceeds from 5304 to 5306 to perform a low buyercategory allocation process.

If the buyer is a not a low category buyer, process flow proceeds from5304 to 5308 to perform a medium/high buyer category allocation process.As an example, if the buyer is not a low category buyer, then the buyeris either a medium category buyer or a high category buyer. Process flowproceeds to 5310 to determine if there are any buyers remaining in thecategory. Additionally, upon completing the low buyer categoryallocation process, process flow proceeds from 5306 to 5310. If thereare buyers remaining in the category, process flow returns from 5310 to5302 to perform the offer allocation process for the next selectedcategory buyer. If there are no buyers remaining in the category processflow proceeds from 5310 to 5312 to determine if there are any brands inthe category remaining. If brands are remaining in the category, processflow returns from 5312 to 5300 to perform the offer allocation processfor the next selected brand. If there are no brands in the categoryremaining, the process illustrated in FIG. 53 ends.

FIG. 54 illustrates an example low category buyer offer allocationprocess. In embodiments, process flow may be directed from 5306 in theoffer allocation process illustrated in FIGS. 53 to 5400. The processmay generally start at 5400 to determine if the low category buyer'spurchase activity indicates brand switching potential. As an example,the low category buyer's purchase activity may indicate brand switchingpotential if the buyer is classified in any portion of the chartillustrated in FIG. 51 that contains an “X.”

If the buyer purchase activity indicates brand switching potential,process flow proceeds from 5400 to 5402 to determine if there is a brandswitching CPG partner in the selected category. If there is no brandswitching CPG partner in the selected category, process flow proceedsfrom 5402 to 5404 to determine if the item is in the offer bank. If theitem is not in the offer bank, process flow proceeds from 5404 to 5406where no offer is provided and the process illustrated in FIG. 54 ends.If the item is in the offer bank, process flow proceeds from 5404 to5408 to allocate a low buyer offer. After the low buyer offer isallocated the process illustrated in FIG. 54 ends. As an example, evenwhen there is no brand switching CPG partner for the selected brand, butan item associated with the brand is in the offer bank, the retailer mayrealize an opportunity to increase retailer sales by allocating an offerto the category buyer.

If there is a brand switching CPG partner in the selected category,process flow proceeds from 5402 to 5418 to determine if the brandswitching item is in the offer bank. If the brand switching item is inthe offer bank, process flow proceeds from 5418 to 5420 to determine ifconsumer brands (retailer house brands) are at risk.

If no consumer brands are at risk, process flow proceeds from 5420 to5422 to allocate a CPG brand switching offer. After the CPG brandswitching offer is allocated, the process illustrated in FIG. 54 ends.If consumer brands are at risk, process flow proceeds from 5420 to 5424to allocate a CPG brand switching offer and a consumer brand (CB) offer.After the CPG brand switching offer and consumer brand offer isallocated, the process illustrated in FIG. 54 ends.

If the brand switching item is not in the offer bank, process flowproceeds from 5418 to 5412 to determine if the low buyer item is in theoffer bank. If the low buyer item is not in the offer bank, process flowproceeds from 5412 to 5414 where no offer is provided and the processillustrated in FIG. 54 subsequently ends. If the low buyer item is inthe offer bank, process flow proceeds from 5412 to 5416 to allocate alower buyer offer. After the low buyer offer is allocated, the processillustrated in FIG. 54 subsequently ends. As an example, even if thebrand switching item is not in the offer bank but the low buyer item isin the offer bank, the retailer may realize an opportunity to increaseretailer sales by allocating an offer to the low category buyer.

If the buyer purchase activity does not indicate brand switchingpotential, process flow proceeds from 5400 to 5410 to determine if thecategory buyer never buys the selected brand. If the category buyernever buys the selected brand, process flow proceeds from 5410 to 5414.If the category buyer buys the brand, process flow proceeds from 5410 to5412.

FIG. 55 illustrates an example medium/high buyer category allocationoffer process. In embodiments, process flow may be directed from 5308 inthe offer allocation process illustrated in FIGS. 53 to 5500. Theprocess may generally start at 5500 to determine if the buyer purchaseactivity indicates brand switching potential as described above. If thebuyer purchase activity does not indicate brand switching potential,process flow proceeds from 5500 to 5502 where no offer is provided andthe process illustrated in FIG. 55 subsequently ends. As an example, ifthe buyer is a medium or high category buyer, and there is no brandswitching potential, the retailer may decide not to allocate an offersince the medium or high category buyer may not have an incentive toincrease his/her category spending.

If the buyer purchase activity indicates brand switching potential,process flow proceeds from 5500 to 5504 to determine if the brandswitching item is in the offer bank. If the brand switching item is notin the offer bank, process flow proceeds from 5504 to 5502 where nooffer is provided and the process illustrated in FIG. 55 subsequentlyends.

If the brand switching item is in the offer bank, process flow proceedsfrom 5504 to 5506 to determine if consumer brands are at risk. If noconsumer brands are at risk, process flow proceeds from 5506 to 5508 toallocate a CPG brand switching offer. After the CPG brand switchingoffer is allocated the process illustrated in FIG. 55 subsequently ends.

If consumer brands are at risk, process flow proceeds from 5506 to 5510to allocate the CPG brand switching offer and consumer brand offer.After allocating the CPG brand switching offer and consumer brand offer,the process illustrated in FIG. 55 ends.

FIG. 56 illustrates an example declining category offer allocationprocess. According to some embodiments, a declining category offerallocation process may be performed to determine if a category buyer'sspending in the category has declined over a period of time. Inembodiments, process flow may be directed from 5212 in the offerallocation process illustrated in FIGS. 52A and 52B to 5300.

The process may generally start at 5600 to select a buyer from theselected category. Process flow proceeds to 5602 to determine apercentage of change in the selected buyer's category spending year overyear (YOY).

Process flow proceeds to 5604 to determine if the buyer's percentagedecrease in category spending is ≥15% YOY. If the buyer's percentage ofdecrease in category spending is less than 15% YOY, process flowproceeds from 5604 to 5606 where no offer is provided and the processillustrated in FIG. 56 subsequently ends. As an example, if the buyer'sspending in the selected category has not decreased in the past 12months by more than 15%, than the retailer may not provide an offersince the category buyer would most likely not have any incentive toincrease category spending if provided an offer.

If the buyer's percentage of decrease in category spending is ≥15% YOY,process flow proceeds from 5604 to 5608 to determine if the decliningitem is in the offer bank. If the declining item is not in the offerbank, process flow proceeds from 5608 to 5606 where no offer is providedand the process illustrated in FIG. 56 subsequently ends.

If the declining item is in the offer bank, process flow proceeds from5608 to 5610 to determine if the buyer already has an unexpired offerfor the item. If the buyer already has an unexpired offer for the item,process flow proceeds from 5610 to 5606 where no offer is provided andthe process illustrated in FIG. 56 subsequently ends. As an example, ifthe buyer has already received a brand switching offer for the selectedcategory or has any other unexpired offer for the selected category, thebuyer may not be provided a new offer.

If the buyer does not have an unexpired offer for the item, process flowproceeds from 5610 to 5612 to allocate an offer. Accordingly, when thebuyer's decrease in category spending in the past 12 months is greaterthan or equal to 15%, the retailer may allocate an offer since the buyermay have incentive to increase category spending.

Process flow proceeds to 5614 to determine if the there are any buyersremaining in the selected category. If there are no buyers remaining inthe selected category, the process illustrated in FIG. 56 ends. If thereare buyers remaining in the selected category, process flow returns from5614 to 5600 perform the declining category allocation process for thenext selected buyer.

FIG. 57 illustrates an example buyer promo offer allocation process.According to some embodiments, the buyer promo offer allocation processmay identify buyers that are more likely to buy an item on promotion. Inembodiments, process flow may be directed from 5216 in the offerallocation process illustrated in FIGS. 52A to 52B to 5700.

The process may generally start at 5700 to select an item from theselected category. Process flow proceeds to 5702 to determine all itembuyers for the selected item. In embodiments, the determined item buyersmay constitute a peer group. Process flow proceeds to 5704 to determinean amount each item buyer spends on the selected item. Process flowproceeds to 5706 to select an item buyer.

Process flow proceeds to 5708 to determine if the amount the item buyerspends on the item is in the 95th percentile or greater compared to thepeer group. If the amount the item buyer spends is in the 95thpercentile or greater compared to the peer group, process flow proceedsfrom 5708 to 5710 to determine the percentage of time the item buyerbuys the selected item on promotion. Process flow proceeds to 5712 todetermine the average percentage of time that the peer group buys theselected item on promotion.

Process flow proceeds to 5714 to determine if the percentage of time thebuyer buys an item on promo is greater than the average percentage oftime the peer group buys an item on promotion. If the buyers' percentageis less than the peer groups' percentage, process flow proceeds from5714 to 5716 where no offer is provided and the process illustrated inFIG. 57 subsequently ends. Additionally, if the amount the item buyerspends on the selected item is less than the 95th percentile compared tothe peer group, process flow proceeds from 5708 to 5716 where no offeris provided in the process illustrated in FIG. 57 subsequently ends.

If the buyers' percentage is greater than the average peer grouppercentage, process flow proceeds from 5714 to 5718 to determine if theitem buyer already has an unexpired offer for the selected item. If theitem buyer already has an unexpired offer for the selected item, processflow proceeds from 5718 to 5716 where no offer is allocated and theprocess illustrated in FIG. 57 subsequently ends. If the item buyer doesnot already have an unexpired offer for the item, process flow proceedsfrom 5718 to 5720 to allocate an offer.

Process flow proceeds to 5722 to determine if there are any remainingbuyers. If there are any remaining buyers, process flow returns from5722 to 5706. If there are no remaining buyers, process flow proceedsfrom 5722 to 5724 to determine if there are any remaining items. Ifthere are no remaining items, the process illustrated in FIG. 57 ends.If there are remaining items, process flow returns from 5724 to 5700 toselect the next item for performing the promo allocation offer process.Accordingly, the retailer may allocate an offer to the buyer if thebuyer's purchase activity compared to the buyer's peer group indicatesthat the buyer is more likely to buy the selected item when an offer forthe selected item is available.

FIG. 58 illustrates an example opportunity gap vs. peer group offerallocation process. According to some embodiments, the opportunity gapvs. peer group offer allocation process identifies opportunities toincrease retailer sales by allocating offers to buyers who are notspending as much on items in the selected category compared to thebuyers' peer group. In embodiments, process flow may be directed from5220 in the offer allocation process illustrated in FIGS. 52A and 52B to5800.

The process may generally start at 5800 to determine an amount eachcategory buyer spends on the selected category. Process flow proceeds to5802 to select a category buyer. Process flow proceeds to 5804 todetermine if the amount the category buyer spends on the selectedcategory is below the 20th percentile compared to the peer group. If theamount the category buyer spends on the category is above the 20thpercentile compared to the peer group, process flow proceeds to 5806where no offer is provided. Process flow proceeds to 5808 to determineif there are any category buyers remaining. If there are no categorybuyers remaining, the process illustrated in FIG. 58 ends. If there areany category buyers remaining, the process flow returns from 5808 to5802 to select the next category buyer.

If the amount the category buyer spends on the selected category isbelow the 20th percentile compared to the peer group, process flowproceeds to 5810 to determine the items the category buyer buys in theselected category. Process flow proceeds to 5812 to select an item.Process flow proceeds to 5814 to determine an amount each category buyerspends on the selected item.

Process flow proceeds to 5816 to determine if the amount the selectedcategory buyer spends on the item is below the 20th percentile comparedto the peer group. If the amount the selected category buyer spends onthe selected item is above the 20th percentile, process flow proceeds to5818 where no offer is provided.

If the amount that the selected category buyer spends on the selecteditem is below the 20th percentile compared to the peer group, processflow proceeds to 5820 to determine if the selected category buyer has anunexpired offer for the selected item. If the category buyer has anunexpired offer for the selected item, process flow proceeds from 5820to 5822 where no offer is provided. If the selected category buyer doesnot have an unexpired offer for the selected item, process flow proceedsfrom 5820 to 5824 to allocate an offer.

Process flow proceeds from 5818, 5822, and 5824 to 5826 to determine ifthe selected category buyer has previously purchased another item in theselected category. If the selected category buyer has another itemavailable for possible offer allocation, process flow returns from 5826to 5812 to select the next item for offer allocation. If the selectedcategory buyer does not have any other items available for possibleoffer allocation, process flow proceeds from 5826 to 5808.

FIG. 59 illustrates an example high penetration and affinity offerallocation process. According to some embodiments, the high penetrationand affinity offer allocation process iterates through each householdregistered with the customized offers savings program to allocate offersfor the selected category. In embodiments, process flow may be directedfrom 5224 in the offer allocation process illustrated in FIGS. 52A and52B to 5900.

The process may generally start at 5900 to select a household. Processflow proceeds to 5902 to determine if the household is a category buyer.If the household is a category buyer, process flow proceeds from 5902 to5904 to determine if the household is a low category buyer. If thehousehold is not a low category buyer, process flow proceeds from 5904to 5908 where no offer is allocated. If the selected household is a lowcategory buyer process flow proceeds from 5904 to 5906 to allocate anoffer for an item in the selected category that the household buys.

If the selected household is not a category buyer, process flow proceedsfrom 5902 to 5910 to allocate an offer that customers in peer groupssimilar to this customer typically purchase. Process flow proceeds from5906, 5908, and 5910 to 5912 to determine if there are any remaininghouseholds to be selected for offer allocation. If there are noremaining households to be selected for offer allocation, the processillustrated in FIG. 59 ends. If there are any remaining households to beselected for offer allocation, process flow returns from 5912 to 5900.

In embodiments, personalized offers include a comparison price point ofthe relevant competitor for each item within a certain area. Embodimentsidentify the primary store for each shopper, identify the competitor byitem in that store, and do price checks and present the results on thesite so consumers can see how the retailer's offer compares to thecompetitor's offer. According to some embodiments the competitor pricewill not be shown along with the personalized price, but rather, willcompare the personalized price to the retailer's reference price. Thisreference price could be the retailer's regular retail price, theretailer's promoted price available in the marketplace for a period oftime, or any other price that would provide a point of reference for thecustomer.

According to some embodiments, the price associated with a personalizedoffer is determined after determining the competitor's pricing. As anexample, when a retailer is selling a product and a competitor isselling the same product at a different price, a customer of theretailer may be offered the competitor's price or a price that is lowerthan the competitor's price. The retailer has the option to match orbeat the competition. As an example of matching the competition, thecompetitor's price may be offered to the customer as a personalizedoffer when the user logins into the user's account. Further, thecompetitor's price may be offered to the user at an in-store kiosk whilethe user is making a purchase. For example, when the customer is makinga purchase that does not include the product for which the competitor'sprice is being offered, the customer may be offered a personalized offerat the competitor's price for the product.

FIG. 60 illustrates an example interface 6000 displayed as a web page ona customer's computer or on the customer's mobile device through amobile device. As illustrated in FIG. 60, the interface 6000 includespersonalized offers 6002, 6004, and 6006 for matching competitor pricesfor products 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In some embodiments, if thecustomer clicks on the “Accept” button for a personalized offerincluding a competitor's price for a product, the competitor's price ofthe accepted offer is associated with the customer's account and loadedonto the customer's loyalty medium. FIG. 61 illustrates an exampleinterface 6100 illustrating an example offer acceptance 6102 for acompetitor price. As illustrated in FIG. 61, upon acceptance of any oneof the offers illustrated in FIG. 60, the competitor price for theretail product is loaded onto the customer's loyalty medium.

According to embodiments, the customer is provided with an updatedpersonalized offer to take into account a change in a competitor'sprice. For example, when a customer accepts an offer for a competitor'sprice for a product, the competitor's price may decrease before thecustomer's next access of the customer's account. If the customerpurchase history indicates that the customer has not purchased theproduct with the previously accepted competitor price, the customer maybe provided an updated offer with the competitor's new price during thecustomer's subsequent access to the customer's account. FIG. 62illustrates an example interface 6200 including the updated personalizedoffer 6202 for the competitor's price. In some embodiments, theinterface 6200 is displayed when the customer is accessing thecustomer's account on a terminal, and a change occurs in thecompetitor's price for a previously accepted offer. In some embodiments,when the customer accepts the updated offer 6202, the new competitor'sprice for Product 1 is associated with the customer's account and loadedonto the customer's loyalty medium.

In another example, a customer may initially accept a personalized offerincluding a competitor's price for a product while the customer islogged onto the customer's account. However, before the customer's nextpurchase at the retailer, the competitor's price for the product mayhave changed. Accordingly, if the customer's current purchase does notinclude the product for which the competitor's price was previouslyaccepted, the customer may be offered an updated personalized offerindicating the competitor's new price for the offer. As an example, uponpurchase, the customer may be provided the updated personalized offervia SMS message, email, or a mobile application interface. If thecustomer's current purchase includes the product for which thecompetitor's prices was previously accepted, the customer may not beoffered the updated personalized offer since there is no incentive toprovide the new competitor's price.

FIG. 63 illustrates an example interface 6300 displayed to the customerwhile a customer is making a purchase. In embodiments, the interface6300 is displayed via a mobile application on the customer's phone. Inanother embodiment, the interface 6300 is displayed at an in-store kioskwhile the customer is performing a self-checkout. As illustrated in FIG.63, the customer purchased Products 2-4, but did not purchase Product 1.Accordingly, in some embodiments, the customer is provided with anupdated personalized offer 6302 including a competitor's new price forProduct 1. If the customer accepts the updated offer 6302, thecompetitor's new price for Product 1 is associated with the customer'saccount and loaded onto the customer's loyalty medium.

In further embodiments, an offer for a competitor price provided to thecustomer (e.g., via mobile application or in-store kiosk) may includelimits that entice the customer to continue shopping at the retailer.For example, if the customer's current purchase does not include theproduct for which an unaccepted personalized offer or an updatedpersonalized offer for a competitor price is available, the personalizedoffer may include quantity and/or time limits on the offer. In someembodiments, when a customer is purchasing a product, a personalizedoffer for a competitor's price provided to the customer (e.g., viamobile application or in-store kiosk) indicates that the customer canreceive the competitor's price if the quantity of the purchased productis increased. FIG. 64 illustrates an example interface 6400 displayed tothe customer either via a mobile application or an in-store kiosk whilea customer is making a purchase. As illustrated in FIG. 64, the customeris purchasing Product 1 with a quantity of 2. However, if the customeraccepts the personalized offer 6402 and increases the total purchasedquantity of Product 1 to 4, the customer receives the competitor's pricefor Product 1. In additional embodiments, the personalized offer 6402 isan updated offer including a new competitor's price that is differentthan a previously accepted competitor's price for Product 1.

In other embodiments, if the customer accepts the personalized offer forthe competitor's price, the offer for the competitor's price may only bevalid for a specified period of time to entice that the customer tocontinue shopping at the retailer. FIG. 65 illustrates an exampleinterface 6500 displayed to the customer either via a mobile applicationor an in-store kiosk while a customer is making a purchase. Asillustrated in FIG. 65, the customer purchased products 2-4, but did notpurchase Product 1. Personalized offer 6502 specifies that if thecustomer accepts the offer, the customer receives the competitor'sprices for Product 1 for the next offer. Thus, by accepting thepersonalized offer 6502, the customer has incentive to return to theretailer's store and continue making purchases.

According to some embodiments, an offer for a competitor's price for aproduct takes into account the brands associated with the product. Forexample, a product may be associated with brands B1 and B2. In someembodiments, if a customer's purchase history indicates a customerpreference for B1 over B2, and a competitor is offering B1 for a lowerprice than the retailer, the customer is offered the competitor's pricefor B1 to entice the customer to continue purchasing B1 from theretailer. In other embodiments, if a customer's purchase historyindicates a customer preference for B1 over B2, a competitor is offeringB2 for a lower price than the retailer, and B2 is associated with a CPGpartner, the customer is offered the competitor's price for B2 to enticethe customer to start purchasing B2.

According to embodiments, the competitor's price for a product is storedin a database. As an example, one or more entities associated with theretailer may collect data regarding a competitor's price for theproduct. In other embodiments, when a customer is logged onto thecustomer's account, the customer may be provided the opportunity ofentering a competitor's price for a product. For example, when thecustomer is interested in purchasing a product from the retailer and hasknowledge that the retailer's competitor is offering the product as adifferent price, the customer may indicate in their account thecompetitor's price for the product. FIG. 66 illustrates an exampleinterface 6600 where a customer specifies a product for which thecustomer desires to receive a personalized offer.

In some embodiments, an information area 6602 is provided to thecustomer to enter information identifying a product such as theproduct's name and brand, information identifying a competitor such asthe competitor's name and location, and the competitor's price for theproduct.

FIG. 67 illustrates an example competitor price matching interface 6700which includes one or more competitor price offers such as competitorprice offer 6702. In embodiments, the competitor price offer specifies acompetitor 6704, a product 6706, the competitor's price 6708, and anylimits 6710 associated with the competitor price offer 6702. The usercan load the competitor's price 6708 for the product 6706 onto theuser's loyalty medium by selecting the add button 6712. FIG. 68illustrates another example competitor price matching interface 6800providing one or more competitor price offers for another competitor.

FIG. 69 illustrates an example user dashboard interface 6900. Accordingto some embodiments, the user dashboard interface 6900 presentscompetitor prices for products based upon customer buying habits. Forexample, if the customer's purchase history indicates a preference for aparticular product, an offer including a competitor price for thatproduct is included in the user dashboard interface 6900.

FIG. 70 illustrates an example shopping list 7000 illustrating productsfor which the user accepted a competitor's price. FIG. 71 illustratesanother example shopping list 7100 illustrating products for which theuser accepted a competitor's price.

FIG. 72 illustrates an example flow chart for providing customizedoffers at competitor prices. In embodiments, the process illustrated inFIG. 72 is started upon a customer registered with the discount savingsprogram and accessing the customer's account either through a computerterminal, an in-store kiosk, or mobile application. The process maygenerally start at 7200 or it is determined if a competitor price for aretail product is available. According to some embodiments, a competitorprice for a retail product becomes available when a competitor of theretailer is offering the retail product at a lower price than thecustomer. If no competitor price for the retail product is available,process flow proceeds from 7200 to 7206. If a competitor price for aretail product is available, process flow proceeds from 7200 to 7202 toprovide a customized offer to the customer for the retail product at thecompetitor price. As an example, any one of offers 6002, 6004, and 6006illustrated in FIG. 60 may be provided to a customer if a competitorprice becomes available. In embodiments, if a customer accepts acustomized offer at a competitor price, the competitor price is loadedonto a loyalty medium associated with the customer's account.

Process flow proceeds from 7202 to 7204 to determine if a purchasenotification is received. As an example, when a customer makes apurchase and scans their loyalty medium at an in-store kiosk, a purchasenotification may be sent to an enterprise server storing the customer'saccount, where the purchase notification specifies the customer'saccount and each product the customer is purchasing. If no purchasenotification is received, process flow returns from 7204 to 7200. If apurchase notification is received, process flow proceeds from 7204 to7206 to determine if the purchase notification specifies the retailproduct. If the purchase notification specifies the retail product,process flow proceeds from 7206 to 7208 to determine if the customerselected an offer for the retail product. If the customer has selectedan offer for the retail product, process flow proceeds from 7208 to 7210to redeem the offer.

As an example, if a customer accepted a customized offer providing acompetitor price for the retail product, the customer is provided thecompetitor price upon purchase of the retail product. If a customer didnot select an offer for the retail product, and the purchasenotification specifies that the customer is purchasing the retailproduct, process flow terminates at 7208 since there is no incentive toprovide the customer with a customized offer. If the purchasenotification specifies the retail product, process flow proceeds from7206 to 7212 to provide a customized offer along with any qualifyingrestrictions.

As an example, if the purchase notification indicates that the customeris not purchasing a retail product, and an allocated customized offerfor a competitor price was not selected by the customer, the customizedoffer for the competitor price may be displayed to the customer via amobile application or on an in-store kiosk. Further, the display of thecustomized offer at the competitor price may include any restrictions onthe offer as illustrated in FIGS. 64 and 65. In another example, if thecustomer has already accepted a customized offer for the retail productat a competitor price, but the customer is not currently purchasing theretail product, an updated offer with a new competitor price may bedisplayed to the customer.

Mobile Applications

Embodiments are directed to one or more mobile applications that permitcustomers to access their account and receive customized offers and/orshopping lists on the customer's mobile device. As an example, one ormore mobile applications associated with the retailer may be downloadedfrom the retailer's server 102 onto the customer's mobile device 110(FIG. 1). The mobile application permits customers to access thecustomer's account, where the customer can view his or her personalizedoffers and account information. In embodiments, the mobile applicationcan be created for the iPhone®, Android™, Blackberry® platforms, or anyother desired mobile platform. In additional embodiments the mobileapplication can be created for any desired tablet device such as aniPad®, Motorola Xoom™, etc.

According to some embodiments, the mobile application provides any ofthe interfaces illustrated in FIGS. 23-45C on a user's mobile device.FIG. 73 illustrates an example mobile user interface 7300. In someembodiments, a mobile application provides location based marketing viathe customer's mobile device. As an example, upon activation of themobile application, the customer may receive retailer advertisements,coupons, and/or offers on the mobile device.

In further embodiments, the mobile application permits the customer tomake payments via the mobile device. As an example, a customer can usethe mobile device to scan a barcode associated with an item, where theitem's purchase price is uploaded to the customer's mobile device. Inanother example, a customer can use the mobile device's near fieldcommunication capability or FOB to scan any tag associated with theitem, where the scanned tag provides the purchase price of the item tothe mobile application. FIG. 74 illustrates an example mobile purchaseinterface 7400 showing the item and the item's purchase price on thecustomer's mobile device, where the customer can confirm payment of theitem. For example, FIG. 74 illustrates that the customer scanned Product1 7402 having a purchase price 7404. In some embodiments, if thecustomer has accepted already accepted a customized offer for Product 1,the purchase price 7404 reflects the offer price. In furtherembodiments, if an offer for Product 1 has not been loaded onto thecustomer's loyalty medium, the offer is displayed in the mobile purchaseinterface 7400. The customer's account may be linked to the customer'spersonal checking account where the mobile application permits thecustomer to directly deduct the item's purchase amount from thecustomer's checking account. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 74, thecustomer can select the confirm button 7406 to have the purchase price7404 deducted from the customer's account ending in 9021. The customermay cancel the transaction by selecting the cancel button 7408.

In another example, upon checkout of items at a POS device, the POSdevice can transmit a total purchase amount to the retailer's server,where the mobile application retrieves the total purchase amount, andthe customer can confirm payment of the purchase amount. According tosome embodiments, the customer is required to confirm the purchasebefore the customer leaves the store. In other embodiments, the customeris required to confirm the purchase within a predetermined time limit(e.g., one week). FIG. 75 illustrates an example mobile purchaseinterface 7500 showing a total purchase price 7502 for the customer'stransaction. The customer can select the confirm button 7504 to have thetotal purchase price 7502 deducted from the customer's account ending in9021, or the customer can cancel the transaction by selecting the cancelbutton 7506.

In some embodiments, the mobile application permits the customer tocheck-in at the store, where the customer's shopping list can bedisplayed with that particular store's aisle numbers. FIG. 76illustrates an example mobile check-in interface 7600. For example, whenthe customer enters the retailer store in San Jose, Calif., the customercan select the check-in button 7602 for that particular store or proceedwithout check-in by selecting the cancel button 7604. In furtherembodiments, when customer checks in at a store via the mobileapplication, the customer's shopping list from the customer's account isdisplayed on the mobile device with the retailer's San Jose store'saisle numbers.

FIG. 77 illustrates an example mobile shopping list interface 7700displaying the San Jose store aisle numbers for each product included inthe list. In another example, when the customer is shopping at theretailer's San Francisco, Calif. location, the customer can check-in atthe San Francisco store, where the customer's shopping list is displayedon the mobile device with the retailer's San Francisco store's aislenumbers. FIG. 78 illustrates another mobile shopping list interface 7800displaying the San Francisco store aisle numbers for each productincluded in the list.

Thus, by providing the shopping list on the customer's mobile device viathe mobile application, users do not have to remember to print theshopping list and bring them to the store. Further, by correlating aparticular store's aisle numbers with the customer's shopping list, theuser saves time since the user does not have to look for the items inthe store. In further embodiments, the users receive additional savingsfrom the additional offers printed on the shopping list.

By permitting the customer to check-in via the mobile application at aparticular store, the retailer has knowledge when the shoppers come into the stores. Further, the check-ins may be used to trigger theactivation of any desired loyalty program. The shopping list printoutcan be a platform for further shopper personalization, 1:1 marketing,and couponing.

Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the presentadvancements are possible in light of the above teachings. It istherefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims,the advancements may be practiced otherwise than as specificallydescribed herein. It is further understood that any features from thecustomized savings programs, special programs, convenience programs,club specials shopping lists, competitor pricing, mobile applications,and/or offer games can be combined with each other to provide anydesired user interface or provide any desired offer.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An individualized discount and rewardserver of a retailer, the server comprising: a processor andinstructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium which,when processed by the processor, causes the individualized discount andreward server of the retailer to: send to a computer system of aconsumer packaged good partner, via a network, information that acustomer is only willing to buy a consumer packaged good partner'sproduct at a reduced price; after the computer system of the consumerpackaged good partner receives the information, receive from thecomputer system of the consumer packaged good partner an agreement toprovide funding for at least one customized offer for the consumerpackaged good partner's product; allocate the at least one customizedoffer to a retailer account based on the agreement using at least apurchase history associated with the customer, the at least onecustomized offer including a loyalty adjustment changing a generalmarket price point of the product to a discount price point; display toa point of sale device, via an interface, a display page includingcategorical display of a plurality of offers that includes the at leastone customized offer and an offer selection option for individualselection of each offer included in the plurality of offers, wherein atleast one of the plurality of offers comprises a comparison of an offerprice to a competitor's price for a similar product; receive a customerinput indicating selection of the at least one customized offer from thepoint of sale device; update, upon reception of the customer inputindicating selection of the at least one customized offer, the retaileraccount associated with the customer to indicate selection of the atleast one customized offer; receiving a purchase notification from thepoint of sale device specifying the retailer account associated with thecustomer and the product; and upon receiving the purchase notificationfrom the point of sale device: i) diverting the purchase notification toa second server which is operated by the retailer and separate from theindividualized discount and reward server, and ii) distributing one ormore functions to the second server to prevent the individualizeddiscount and reward server from being slowed down, the one or morefunctions distributed to the second server including: a. retrieving theretailer account specified in the purchase notification, and b.redeeming the customized offer by associating the product with theloyalty adjustment independent of the general market price pointassociated with the product at a time of reception of the purchasenotification.
 2. The server according to claim 1, wherein the processoris further configured to: display to the point of sale device, via theinterface, another display page including a list of each offerindividually selected by the customer, the another display pageincluding a first option to send an email to the customer including thelist or a second option to print the list.
 3. The server according toclaim 1, wherein the loyalty adjustment includes a reward for at leastone additional service offered by the retailer.
 4. The server accordingto claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to: determinethe discount price point using at least the purchase history associatedwith the customer, the purchase history specifying one or more previouspurchase prices of the product, the discount price point set to be equalto or lower than a highest purchase price included in the specified oneor more previous purchase prices.
 5. The server according to claim 1,wherein the at least one customized offer further includes an offerlimit specifying that the customer can purchase a specified amount ofthe product through a predetermined expiration date.
 6. The serveraccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one customized offer isfurther allocated to the customer according to selection of the productfrom a predetermined list of products displayed to the customer.
 7. Theserver according to claim 1, wherein the display of the plurality ofoffers is sorted according to the purchase history associated with thecustomer.
 8. The server according to claim 1, wherein another displaypage includes a third option to send the list to a mobile device of thecustomer, and upon selection of the third option included in the anotherdisplay page, the processor is further configured to send the list tothe mobile device of the customer in which the list is displayed on themobile device via a mobile application associated with the loyaltyprogram of the retailer.
 9. An individualized discount and reward systemof a retailer comprising: a first server, a second server, and a pointof sale device, the first server including: one or more linked databasesto store customer data associated with a loyalty program of a retailer,the customer data including at least one retailer account purchasehistory associated with the customer; an interface to receive a customerinput from a point of sale device; a processor that causes the firstserver of the individualized discount and reward system of the retailerto: send to a computer system of a consumer packaged good partner, via anetwork, information that a customer is only willing to buy a consumerpackaged good partner's product at a reduced price; after the computersystem of the consumer packaged good partner receives the information,receive from the computer system of the consumer packaged good partneran agreement to provide funding for at least one customized offer forthe consumer packaged good partner's product; allocate the at least onecustomized offer to the retailer account based on the agreement using atleast the purchase history associated with the customer, the at leastone customized offer including a loyalty adjustment changing a generalmarket price point of the product to a discount price point; display tothe point of sale device, via the interface, a display page including acategorical display of a plurality of offers that includes the at leastone customized offer and an offer selection option for individualselection of each offer included in the plurality of offers, wherein atleast one of the plurality of offers comprises a comparison of an offerprice to a competitor's price for a similar product; update, uponreception of the customer input indicating selection of the at least onecustomized offer, the retailer account associated with the customer toindicate selection of the at least one customized offer; receive apurchase notification from the point of sale device specifying theretailer account associated with the customer and the product; and uponreceiving the purchase notification from the point of sale device: i)divert the purchase notification to the second server which is operatedby the retailer and separate from the first server, and ii) distributeone or more functions to the second server to prevent the first serverfrom being slowed down, the one or more functions distributed to thesecond server including:  a. retrieving the retailer account specifiedin the purchase notification, and  b. redeeming the customized offer byassociating the product with the loyalty adjustment independent of thegeneral market price point associated with the product at a time ofreception of the purchase notification; and the point of sale device totransmit the purchase notification to the first server.
 10. The systemaccording to claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to:display to the point of sale device, via the interface, another displaypage including a list of each offer individually selected by thecustomer, the another display page including a first option to send anemail to the customer including the list or a second option to print thelist.
 11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the loyaltyadjustment is a reward for at least one additional service provided bythe retailer.
 12. The system according to claim 10, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: determine the discount price pointusing at least the purchase history associated with the customer, thepurchase history specifying one or more previous purchase prices of theproduct, the discount price point set to be equal to or lower than ahighest purchase price included in the specified one or more previouspurchase prices.
 13. The system according to claim 9, wherein the atleast one customized offer further includes an offer limit specifyingthat the customer can purchase a specified amount of the product througha predetermined expiration date.
 14. The system according to claim 9,wherein the at least one customized offer is further allocated to thecustomer according to selection of the product from a predetermined listof products displayed to the customer.
 15. A non-transitory computerreadable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructionsthat when executed by a processor in an individualized discount andreward server of a retailer causes the individualized discount andreward server of the retailer to: store, in one or more linkeddatabases, customer data associated with a loyalty program of aretailer, the customer data including at least one retailer account andpurchase history associated with the customer; receive a customer inputfrom a point of sale device via an interface of the individualizeddiscount and reward server of the retailer; send to a computer system ofa consumer packaged good partner, via a network, information that acustomer is only willing to buy a consumer packaged good partner'sproduct at a reduced price; after the computer system of the consumerpackaged good partner receives the information, receive from thecomputer system of the consumer packaged good partner an agreement toprovide funding for at least one customized offer for the consumerpackaged good partner's product; allocate the at least one customizedoffer to the retailer account based on the agreement using at least thepurchase history associated with the customer, the at least onecustomized offer including a loyalty adjustment changing a generalmarket price point of the product to a discount price point; display tothe point of sale device, via the interface, a display page including acategorical display of a plurality of offers that includes the at leastone customized offer and an offer selection option for individualselection of the at least of each offer included in the plurality ofoffers, wherein at least one of the plurality of offers comprises acomparison of an offer price to a competitor's price for a similarproduct; update, upon reception of the customer input indicatingselection of the at least one customized offer, the retailer accountassociated with the customer to indicate selection of the at least onecustomized offer; receive a purchase notification from the point of saledevice specifying the retailer account associated with the customer andthe product; and upon receipt the purchase notification from the pointof sale device: i) divert the purchase notification to a second serverwhich is operated by the retailer and separate from the individualizeddiscount and reward server, and ii) distribute one or more functions tothe second server to prevent the individualized discount and rewardserver from being slowed down, the one or more functions distributed tothe second server including: a) retrieving the retailer accountspecified in the purchase notification, and b) redeeming the customizedoffer by associating the product with the loyalty adjustment independentof the general market price point associated with the product at a timeof reception of the purchase notification.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the instructionswhen executed by the processor further cause the server to: display tothe point of sale device, via the interface, another display pageincluding a list of each offer individually selected by the customer,the another display page including a first option to send an email tothe customer including the list or a second option to print the list.17. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 15,wherein the loyalty adjustment is a reward for at least one additionalservice provided by the retailer.
 18. The non-transitory computerreadable medium according to claim 16, wherein the executableinstructions further cause the server to: determine the discount pricepoint using at least the purchase history associated with the customer,the purchase history specifying one or more previous purchase prices ofthe product, the discount price point set to be equal to or lower than ahighest purchase price included in the specified one or more previouspurchase prices.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable mediumaccording to claim 15, wherein the at least one customized offer furtherincludes an offer limit specifying that the customer can purchase aspecified amount of the product through a predetermined expiration date.20. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 15,wherein the at least one customized offer is further allocated to thecustomer according to selection of the product from a predetermined listof products displayed to the customer.